Partaking in an electric “let’s go Sharks!” chant has never been more appropriate, as ESM has made like Aimee Mann by “wising up” in the green department.
To celebrate the completion of its $18.5 million Energy Performance Contract (EPC), the Eastport-South Manor (ESM) Central School District coordinated a special ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Jr.-Sr. High School.
According to the district, through energy savings and state aid, this project was completed at no cost to the community’s taxpayers.
Moreover, the EPC will guarantee savings of at least $450,000 in its first year of operation by reducing ESM’s energy consumption at all five of its buildings. The meticulously crafted construction of solar carports and rooftop-mounted solar panels throughout the district made this possible—a simple pleasure to treasure called the swift implementation of cost-saving measures.
Retrofitting all the lights and lighting fixtures to LED throughout each of ESM’s facilities led to additional savings.
The district also installed new, massive 600-ton and 300-ton cooling units at the Jr.-Sr. High School. These are more efficient than those they replaced, which had reached the end of a long and successful run before flaming out.
Now, the entire 365,000-square-foot building can be cooled to the maximum possible extent without any signs of slowing down.
Other energy control measures addressed pipe and valve insulation, new building management controls, and energy-efficient motors for the heating systems at the high school and Dayton Avenue Elementary.
Superintendent of Schools Joseph A. Steimel thanked local and state legislators for making the funds available for the project, as well as for expediting the solar panel connection to the grid ahead of the ribbon-cutting.
Esteemed local leaders in attendance included Senators Anthony Palumbo and Dean Murray, Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Karen Dunne Kesnig, and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine—all pictured alongside ESM’s superintendent brass.