Success Stories 

Landscaping Water Use/Irrigation

Business: Cannon Beach City Hall (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 19

Vignette

• Eliminated blank pages between print jobs. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $23/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 39 pounds of paper (8 reams)/year.
• Converted public notices to a self-mailer (without an envelope). FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $35/year.
• Converted heat pump for City Council chambers from electric to natural gas and installed a 24-hour, 7-day thermostat. Since the chambers are used on an infrequent and inconsistent schedule, employees were also trained to be more conscientious about turning the settings down when leaving the room. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: estimated at $422/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 5,560 kWh/year (electricity) and 124 therms/year (natural gas).
• Staff check furnace filters every 2-3 months and replace with new filters if needed.
• Installed toilet "dummies" (sealed bags filled with a weight, such as rocks) in the tanks of all toilets. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $30/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 7,800 gallons/year.
• The sidewalk in front of City Hall is now swept rather than hosed. Sweeping takes no more time than hosing the sidewalk down and uses no water. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $16/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 3,120 gallons/year.
• Installed faucet aerators on all sinks, saving energy and water.

Case Study

None

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Business: Corvallis-Benton County Public Library (Corvallis)

Number of Employees: 62

Vignette

• Transports books between locations in durable plastic totes, rather than paper boxes.
• Uses remanufactured toner cartridges. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $325/year.
• Buys stationery containing recycled paper.
• Recycles office paper, corrugated cardboard boxes, newspaper, yard debris, and bottles and cans.
• Encourages the reuse of books through an annual used book sale. Consolidates unsaleable books with Oregon State University for recycling.
• The Library has an unofficial policy banning the use of brightly colored papers ("astrobrights") which are difficult to recycle. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $200/year.
• All restroom sinks have self-regulating faucets that provide water for about three seconds before shutting off. Water is also set at a constant temperature, so patrons don’t waste water adjusting the temperature.
• Reduced run times on automatic sprinkler irrigation system from 20 minutes per station to 6-10 minutes per station. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: approximately $530/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: approximately 440,000 gallons of water/year.
• As bulbs in exit signs burn out, staff are replacing them with LED lamps. LED lamps have life expectancies of 30 to 50 years, compared to 4 to 6 months for traditional incandescent lamps. The full retrofit will cost $1,352. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $628/year when fully implemented (electricity and bulb savings, labor savings not included). RESOURCE SAVINGS: 8,000 kWh/year (when fully implemented).

Case Study

• Case study exists.

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Business: Fred Meyer Gateway store (Portland)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

Installed a centralized computer control system that tracks soil moisture and applies water in shorter cycles to allow for "soak" time. This limits water use to just what is needed. These controls cut irrigation water use by 50 percent, and recover their costs in less than 3 years. Most Fred Meyer stores built since Gateway now use the same controls. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: (Gateway store only) $800/year.

Case Study

• Call the City of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development, 503-823-7222.

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Business: Haystack Motel (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 5

Vignette

• All guests used to be provided with a complimentary newspaper every morning. Now, guests are asked at check-in if they want a daily newspaper. Approximately 21% of guests say "no". FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $759/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,500 pounds/year.
• Switched the motel newsletter to a format that can be mailed without an envelope. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $162/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 50 pounds of envelopes/year.
• Landscaping is watered in the early morning, when less water evaporates.
• At least every 6 months, staff make a point to vacuum all refrigerator coils, check and adjust all refrigerator temperatures, and check toilets for leaks.
• As towels wear out, they will be replaced with colored towels. Colored towels can be washed at a lower temperature, thus saving energy.
• The motel makes very few photocopies. When documents longer than one page are being copied, staff try to use a different copier that has an automatic double-sided copying feature. This copier is located at the management office (down the street) of the company that owns the motel, so no extra trips are typically required. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $13/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 21 pounds/year (about 4 reams).

Case Study

None

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Business: Hood River Electric Cooperative (Hood River)

Number of Employees: 12

Vignette

• Reduced energy use approximately 30%.
  • T-12 fluorescent lamps and magnetic ballasts were replaced with T-8 lamps and electronic ballasts in all areas where the lights are used on a regular basis. Incandescent bulbs were replaced with compact fluorescents in other high-use areas, such as the entryway and restrooms.
  • Installed a ground-source heat pump, which warms and cools the building by pumping heat from or to the soil. This system replaced electric resistance heating and a separate air conditioning unit in the ducts of the air handling system. Connecting a standard electric water heater into a heat exchanger circuit with the heat pump compressor further supplies most of the building’s hot water.
  • Controls further reduce energy use when the equipment is not in use. This includes a programmable thermostat for the heat pump system, and low-power/"sleep" modes for computers, printers, and the photocopier.

RESOURCE SAVINGS: 32,000 kWh/year. 32,000 kWh/year.

• Improved its irrigation system by replacing "rain bird" type impulse sprinklers with drip emitters and "micro-sprinklers" to use less water. Placement of mulch around landscaping also conserves water by reducing evaporation.
• The shop floor is now swept rather than hosed down, further saving water.
• The electric cooperative is switching to a longer-lasting electric cable that reduces material use (replacement) and labor costs. Although the longer-lasting cable costs more up-front, it is expected to reduce overall costs from anywhere between 19% and 57% after replacement costs (including labor) are factored in.
• The office reuses file folders, cuts old paper into notepads, and purchased a duplexing unit as an option when replacing an older copy machine to allow two-sided copying.

Case Study

• Call Hood River Green Smart, 541-386-2000.

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Business: Stahlbush Island Farms, Inc.

Number of Employees: 22

Vignette

Stahlbush Island Farms is a grower and processor of fruits and vegetables. Most of the company’s customers are large food product manufacturers.

• Water use has been reduced by more than 50%, due to an innovative system where water is used in three or four different applications. Water is used to cool hot pumpkin puree and compressor oil, and to condense ammonia refrigerant. The warmed water is then used to pre-heat both the boiler and pumpkins. Wastewater from pumpkin and equipment washing is applied to fields for irrigation.
• Timers were installed on fan motors in freezers so that fans don’t run all of the time. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $4,500/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 133,000 kWh/year.
• As targeted motors wear out, they are replaced with high-efficiency motors. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: when fully implemented, this will save $2,300/year in electric bills. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 50,000 kWh/year.
• Only "natural" (uncolored) five gallon HDPE plastic pails are used. These pails are easier for customers to recycle.
• Ammonia compressor head pressure and boiler pressure have been adjusted to conserve energy.
• The farm composts food scraps and is experimenting with using food scraps as cattle feed.
• Some bulk products are shipped in reconditioned drums.
• Corrugated cardboard boxes and office paper are recycled.

Case Study

• Case study exists.

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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.

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