Success Stories

Windows and Insulation

Business: Brothers’ Restaurant (Ashland)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

• Replaced most standard incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Installed controls to turn off lights in unoccupied rooms.
• Sealed areas where cold air leaked in the building.
• Replaced inefficient ductwork.
• Installed faucet aerators to reduce water use.
• Raised awareness among staff to point out drips and leaks and not run water unnecessarily.

FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $600/year (all activities).

Case Study

• Call Oregon Office of Energy, 1-800-221-8035

---

Business: Melanie’s Flowers (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 2

Vignette

Melanie’s Flowers is a flower and coffee shop.

• Large packing boxes that flowers arrive in are saved and sent back with the flower supply company for reuse. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 190 pounds/year.
• When coffee is served in disposable cups, staff used to automatically "double cup" all drinks. Staff switched to asking if a single or double cup was preferred. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $800/year in cup costs. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 390 pounds/year.
• Uses reusable, washable coffee filters. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $125/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 50 pounds/year.
• Installed toilet "dummy" (sealed bags filled with a weight, such as rocks) in the tanks of all toilets. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $20/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 5,100 gallons/year.
• Repaired leaking window.
• Reduced size of coffee club cards.

Case Study

None

---

Business: Tualatin High School (Tualatin)

Number of Employees: ~100

Vignette

• Encourage teachers and students to copy, print, and write on both sides of the page.
• Eliminated print overruns of the school newspaper. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $1,260/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 260 pounds/year.
• Use a posting policy to discourage excess posters; install more bulletin boards, reduce number of posters. This reduces high custodial costs repainting damaged walls.
• Classroom garbage can liners are no longer changed every night unless obviously soiled. Lunchroom garbage can liners are only pulled between lunches if more than half full.
• Replaced paper food trays for a la carte items with wax tissue pickups. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $458/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 320 pounds/year.
• A mulching mower is used everywhere except the football field and baseball diamond. This saves mowing time, hauling expenses, and garbage bags. It also returns nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil, reducing lawn fertilizer needs. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $10,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 37,800 pounds/year.
• Purchase cleaning solutions in concentrate. A dispenser unit is used to mix the concentrates with water at the correct ratio. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $300/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 350 pounds/year.
• Purchase remanufactured laser printer cartridges rather than new cartridges. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $1,200/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 72 pounds/year.
• Built in 1991, the school features glazed and double-paned windows, electronic ballasts, advanced fluorescent lights, and computer controlled heating and cooling. As a result of these design features, Tualatin High School uses 36% less energy per square foot of building space than the district’s other high school. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: approximately $35,000/year.

Case Study

• Case study exists, call Metro, 503-234-3000.

---

Business: Winchester Country Inn (Ashland)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

• Reduced water heater and laundry temperatures.
• Using less water in the kitchen and garden.
• Sealed air leaks in the building.
• Installing higher efficiency lights and educating staff to turn fewer lights on.

FINANCIAL SAVINGS: Winchester Country Inn expects to save $3,000/year from these measures.

Case Study

• Call Oregon Office of Energy, 1-800-221-8035

[print version]