Anyone installing energy efficient stuff from a government grant?

Status
Not open for further replies.

hockeyoligist2

Senior Member
My company received a government grant for upgrading to energy efficient lights and motors, in our sewer plants. It's called WASEE, not sure that is the correct spelling, but that is the way it is spelled on my work orders.

It doesn't make a lot of common sense to me. It's not that I'm complaining about the extra work, I do get overtime pay. But it seems to be wasteful.

We have to replace perfectly good motors, now, some of them only months old, with motors that meet their standards. An example, I replaced a motor last week that was one month old. It was a 15HP 460v, the new motor pulls .8 amps less than the old one. It runs about 6 hours a day and will probably fail due to the elements before it has saved enough power to pay for it. Must less the power that was consumed in another country to manufacture it!

Most of the motors that we are replacing are already high efficiency.

Same with lights, I'm replacing brand new high efficiency lights this week, in an office, they are 3 months old but don't meet their standards.

IMHO, we should have the leeway to purchase the motors and lights, put in storage, and replace the old ones when they fail, unless they are real energy hogs. What we are doing is putting the old motors in storage for replacements for the new motors when they fail! We are throwing/giving away the old lights. And according to what I am being told that is "A OK" with the grant "powers that be".

PS Don't turn this in to politics and get it locked! ;)
 
Last edited:

hillbilly1

Senior Member
Location
North Georgia mountains
Occupation
Owner/electrical contractor
There's a lot of competition, I went to a bid meeting to retrofit 50 Hid parking deck lights at a college to LED, there was 10 contractors there bidding it, some local, some not. The security guard told me it was an even larger crowd there the day before. I don't know how they pay out since your doing it in-house. (by the way, the college was that "little one" just south of you) As far as the old lights and motors, there are many recyclers that will pay you for them.
 
Last edited:

cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
I hope we can all read about this exact business, tommorrow.

What really bother me about these types of services is that they come in due to a grant and think that a better ideal exists for an engineered and maintained service.

Why aren't they forced to qualify their services verses cart-blank replacement to be in their service?

Granted, there's a lot to say about one's electrical foot print, but let them put pen to paper to qualify their statements.

If the OP/Mods wants to flag it, have at it!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top