The Chattanooga Public Library is getting a $1.5 million upgrade to its lighting and HVAC system, according to The Times Free Press.
The project is part of the city's effort to reduce energy use by 20 percent in its more than 200 municipal buildings during the next ten years. The project at the 40-year-old library building will be a focus during 2017.
The upgrades are expected to cut the building’s $184,451 annual electric bill by more than $60,000. The payback period for the work likely will be more than 20 years. The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Energy Right program is contributing $65,000 to the project.
The project is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE) Better Building Challenge. The story says that Chattanooga, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Erlanger Hospital all have joined the challenge.
Combined, the three entities occupy more than 7.5 million square feet of space. The city has cut about 7 percent of its energy usage from the 2013 base of about 250 million kWh, the story says.
