LIGHTING RETROFITS AND UPGRADES
Oxnard’s City Hall and seven other City facilities are receiving various energy efficient retrofits and upgrades to their aging lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (“HVAC”) systems at a cost of more than $1 million, paid with federal stimulus funds.
The City Council approved the lighting retrofits and upgrades at its meeting on March 22nd, awarding a $496,391 contract to Sylvania Lighting Services Corporation to replace inefficient interior and exterior fixtures, lamps, and ballasts with energy efficient lighting equipment; install sensors and timers; install energy efficient LED exit signs; and replace prismatic lenses. These improvements will occur at City Hall and City Hall Annex, Oxnard’s Corporate Yard, the Transportation Center, Public Library, the Performing Arts Center, the City Parking Garage, and the Public Safety Building. Work started on this project in Spring 2011.
The project is financed with federal stimulus funds awarded to the City under the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (“EECBG”). The City expects the retrofits and upgrades to save about $100,000 a year in energy costs and reduce energy usage by over 827,000 kwh annually.
The Ventura County Regional Energy Alliance and Southern California Edison assisted the City in auditing selected public facilities to pinpoint energy inefficiencies. Taking advantage of a relationship between the County of Ventura and Sylvania, the City then “piggybacked” onto an existing contract, which greatly lowered cost and expedited processing. The City expects to expend the remainder of its EECBG funds to replace components of the Civic Center and Public Library’s inefficient HVAC systems.