BURLINGTON, Iowa – September 21, 2012 – The new middle school in Burlington is an example of how energy-efficient planning can really save money. Edward Stone Middle School was recently finished with help from Interstate Power and Light Company, an Alliant Energy company, and incorporates some of the latest technology to reduce energy usage.
The new school shows how insulation in the right spots can really make a difference. By adding more than the standard amount of insulation to the walls and roof, the school will reduce energy costs by almost $10,000 a year. By adding a filter to the windows, the energy costs are also reduced by more than $1,000 a year. These are just a few of the energy-efficiency strategies.
“Edward Stone Middle School is a gorgeous light-filled building that brings joy to our students and staff. The positive school climate makes it a great place to learn,” said Superintendent Jane Evans, Burlington Community Schools. “By working with Alliant Energy we were able to design an energy efficient building that will save money for our district, which is important to our taxpayers.”
A typical building of this size, without the energy-efficient technology would spend about $152,000 a year in energy costs. This technology will help the district save more than $48,000 a year in energy. In addition to the energy savings, this project qualified for an incentive of $86,649 through Alliant Energy’s Commercial New Construction Program.
“The Commercial New Construction program gets customers to think about energy-efficiency from the very beginning of the project,” said Bob Huschak, Burlington Generating Station Plant Manager. “With Alliant Energy’s energy-efficiency programs, our customers benefit every time.”
Alliant Energy offers the Commercial New Construction program to assist owners and design teams in evaluating potential energy conservation strategies for new and renovated building projects. The customer, project design team, and utility personnel work together from the start of the conceptual design. They use building performance simulation modeling to identify and implement cost-effective energy efficiency approaches that improve the overall energy efficiency of a building. To qualify, the enhancements must create energy savings at least 15 percent greater than projected energy use if the facility had just been built to the required Iowa building code.
The Commercial New Construction program can be utilized for new commercial buildings and major remodeling projects. It is available to Alliant Energy retail electric and gas customers located in its Iowa and Minnesota service territory. For more information on Alliant Energy’s Commercial New Construction program, visit alliantenergy.com/newconstruction or call 1-866-ALLIANT (866-255-4268).
Media Contact: Justin Foss, (319) 786-4788