PATASKALA, Ohio, Aug. 26, 2014 — Licking Heights Local School District received a check today for $44,152 from AEP Ohio’s business incentive program, which helps businesses purchase and install energy efficient equipment.
In December 2013, Licking Heights Local Schools embarked on a two-week project during the winter school break to reduce excessive energy use caused by duct leaks in the air-handling unit (AHU) of the West Elementary School. Bruner Corporation, a HVAC and mechanical solutions provider, corrected the ductwork issues using Aeroseal, an aerolized duct sealant, eliminating leaks throughout the duct system.
Repairing the ductwork of the West Elementary AHU improved occupant comfort and will save the school district more than 888,210 kilowatt hours per year. The change in performance was so significant that on the coldest days in January 2014, the heat at West Elementary was maintained at set point and in some instances was even lowered.
“I am always skeptical about claims that sound too good to be true, so when I first heard about Aeroseal, it was the least appealing option. But, after doing some research and learning about its use at other educational facilities, including an Ohio State University dormitory, it quickly became the solution of choice,” said Dr. Philip Wagner, Superintendent, Licking Heights School District.
“In the end, this was one of the smoothest projects we’ve ever had done at this school. It came within budget and on time. The results met every expectation and then some.”
Based on the tremendous success of the West Elementary energy efficiency project, the school district is now making plans to perform similar projects within all of their buildings.
Since 2009, AEP Ohio has helped customers reduce power usage by 1,697 gigawatt hours, saving more than $1 billion. AEP Ohio offers a variety of energy efficiency programs and discounts to help business and residential customers to waste less energy and save money. For more information, visit AEPOhio.com/Solutions (business) or AEPOhio.com/WasteLess (residents).
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AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of major AEP subsidiaries Ohio Power Company in Ohio. AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio, and is a unit of American Electric Power. News and information about AEP Ohio can be found at AEPOhio.com.
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a 40,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east and north Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. News releases and other information about AEP can be found at AEP.com.
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FrazierHeiby
Denise Clark
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