An energy audit for the City of Pawtucket, RI identified many significant energy-efficiency improvements, ranging from streetlight LED conversions and LED lighting upgrades at every facility to weatherization, air sealing, a building management system at four facilities, and HVAC system replacements, including boilers and centralized control systems. RPM worked on the LED conversion and HVAC portions of the project. National Grid and the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER) supported this project with incentives. The project is expected to save $6.3M over 13 years, savings exceeding costs immediately upon completion.

In June 2020, the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER), Department of Administration (DOA), Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) and Department of Corrections (DOC) completed a collaborative project to upgrade the exterior lighting at the John O. Pastore Complex to current LED technology. The project will help reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 811 tons, equivalent to removing 159 vehicles from the road for one year, on average.

Connecting smart thermostats and intelligent building software to central equipment to operate the entire building as a system, improved occupant comfort and delivered an estimated annual energy savings of approximately $23,500. Utility incentives covered 74% of total cost.

This project was undertaken to balance the amount of fresh air coming into and being exhausted at this facility as well as air flows floor-to-floor. In addition, maintenance staff were trained on measuring and adjusting these flows. The result was dramatically improved air quality and freshness throughout the building as well as approximately $55,000 in annual energy cost savings.  

Building control systems don’t have to be complex or expensive. RPM’s tailored approach at this site allowed maintenance staff to view and adjust building temperatures remotely and yielded approximately $44,000 in annual energy savings. The project cost was covered 100% by utility incentive programs.  

Beginning with upgrades to the boilers and lighting, this project also included wireless remote access to control heating and lighting systems, and a tighter building envelope. This holistic makeover made for a better skating experience and yields approximately $35,000 in annual energy savings. The project was supported with 30% utility incentives.

Routine maintenance projects can yield significant energy and cost savings. The local utility paid to add insulation to a scheduled hot water pipe replacement project which now saves the property approximately $12,000 per year in heating costs. A definite win-win situation.

Standard utility incentives were not enough to make retrofitting this legacy solar thermal system cost effective. Persistence paid off and we were able to leverage a grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the Department of Energy to cover the entire cost of upgrades. 

Many organizations want a comprehensive approach to sustainability that achieves their overarching vision. To ensure the greatest success, Sustainability Plans must be created with a comprehensive and systematic approach, have clear goals, a defined timeline, a workable process, and overall control of expenditures. But they must also be flexible and simple to implement. RPM’s sustainability plans provide that clarity. They are specifically tailored to suit each organization’s needs, structure, and mission.