Over the past several years, Palm Beach County has developed policies to reduce energy consumption and reduce costs within county-owned, maintained and leased facilities and equipment.

Through collaborative efforts of county departments including Administration, Airports, Engineering, Facilities Development & Operations, Information Systems Services, Parks & Recreation, and Water Utilities, strategies have been implemented to address equipment, lighting and operational opportunities, indoor climate control, appliances and vending machines, desktop computers and devices, water conservation, renovation and building improvement standards, and new construction.

Employee competitions and incentive initiatives help to increase awareness and motivation toward achieving county-facility energy goals, and reporting, benchmarking and performance measurements are conducted continuously to track how we're doing.  Our current practices utilize state-of-the-art industry standards, resulting in considerable energy savings including:

• New construction – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, as seen in our newest library branches
• Building automation systems – encompassing HVAC, lighting, electrical, and alarm systems; thermal comfort temperature ranges have been standardized for all departments, and CO2 meters detect occupancy which automatically alters the air conditioning production – a 5-20% savings
• Energy Star appliances
• Efficient lighting, including LED technology, motion and light sensors, and electronic ballasts have resulted in up to a 70% savings
• Faucet aerators, automated faucets, and high-efficiency water conserving toilets
• Energy audits are performed internally by Facilities staff and externally by FPL and Siemens
• More than 230 vehicles in the county's fleet are hybrid vehicles, and of Palm Tran's fleet, 35 buses are hybrid and 50 vehicles are fueled by clean-burning propane autogas
• Additional vehicle policies include anti-idling, nitrogen filled tires, aluminum bodies for utility vehicles, and community auction resales

County Engineering is moving forward with energy-saving features in the installation and maintenance of traffic signals and streetlights.  Nearly 100 percent of the county's traffic signals have been converted from incandescent to LED, which has resulted in a decrease in power consumption from 135 watts per light to 10 watts each.

For streetlights, LED technology is now available to meet illumination standards for major thoroughfares, and the County is evaluating the costs for fixtures that offer additional durability and warranties for equipment.  Conversion to LED street lights is being undertaken gradually.  Additionally, further tests of solar- and wind turbine-powered LED lights are being conducted.

These and other initiatives are underway to further the county's commitment to conserve energy and lower operational and maintenance costs. I look forward to updating you with future county developments in energy conservation, and if there is any way I can assist you, please contact me at (561)355-2201 or by email at hvaleche@pbcgov.org.