Honeywell announced the start of a project with Hudson County, N.J., to make critical improvements to buildings and infrastructure — enhancements that will help modernize facilities and deliver long-term savings to the County and its residents.

The project will include efficiency measures, such as building automation and lighting upgrades, at more than 20 buildings at the Hudson County Correctional Center and Meadowview Campus. The County will fund the work through a $28 million Energy Savings Improvement Program (ESIP), a State of New Jersey-approved financing tool that allows the County to pay for the improvements using the cost reductions they deliver. Honeywell guarantees certain energy savings related to the use of electricity, water and other utilities, as well as operating expense savings over the course of the 20-year program. The estimated energy and operational savings totals approximately $1.7 million annually.

The overall improvements are expected to reduce annual energy use by approximately 30%, specifically dropping electricity consumption by about 4,058,125 kilowatt-hours and 4623 kW, while reducing carbon dioxide and related emissions by over 104 metric tons per year.

“Every organization wants to be more energy-efficient these days,” said Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise. “In government, we have a duty every day to look for ways to reduce our carbon footprint—but we also have an obligation to our taxpayers to make cost-effective choices. That’s why we are so pleased with this project—it truly is a win-win—creating more energy efficiency and reducing cost of operation long term. Honeywell helped us map out an excellent path for change.”

A 1.3 megawatt photovoltaic solar power system will also be installed across both facilitates as part of the overall program, with a combination of roof mounted and parking lot canopy mounted solar arrays.

“This work is designed to be budget neutral or better for the County,” said James Regan, vice president and general manager of energy for Honeywell Building Solutions. “This program will allow the County to put some of the funds it currently spends on utilities and operating expenses directly back into improving the infrastructure of buildings, rather than paying an electric, water or fuel bill.”

The phased work at the Meadowview Campus includes significant work on the equipment that provides heating and hot water. The campus is currently served by a central plant, which feeds these utilities to every building; however, the plant and piping are aging and in need of continual repair. The County will decommission the plant, and Honeywell will install boilers and water heaters in each building. The decentralized architecture provides an added layer of protection in the event of power outages or inclement weather. It also gives the County flexibility to explore microgrid and distributed energy technologies to further increase resiliency. 

Additional work at the Meadowview Campus, including the psychiatric hospital and juvenile detention center, will entail:

·   Installing Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator to provide a more unified view and control of all buildings, not only on this campus, but at multiple buildings throughout the County. It aims to provide a County-wide control platform, streamlining operations and maintenance programs;

·   Replacing and refurbishing chillers to improve the cooling of facilities;

·   Replacing lights with LEDs to boost efficiency, visibility and safety;

·   Replacing the split system central air conditioner and roof top unit heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment; and

·   Improving the building envelope weatherization to help reduce the loss of conditioned air.

At the Hudson County Correctional Center, Honeywell will install a system to monitor and control water consumption throughout the facility, specifically to curtail overuse in individual cells, which includes more than 800 water fixtures. The improvements are expected to save approximately 19,170 kilogallons of water at the correctional facility each year. The Center will also receive new boilers and a backup generator, an extensive lighting retrofit, and building automation controls.

Overall in the state of New Jersey, Honeywell has implemented more than $220 million in ESIP work and provided nearly $15M in annual savings. Most recently, the company and the City of Newark kicked off an energy savings project that will help Newark cut annual operating expenses by an estimated 36%.

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