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Harford County Public Schools Scores an “A” in Efficiency

Learn how upgrades helped HCPS save $1.2 million system-wide.

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Savings at a Glance

By participating in the BGE Building Tune-up program, the Washington Research Library Consortium was able to take advantage of financial incentives to reduce energy use at its Upper Marlboro, Maryland headquarters.

 8 months until payback on project costs
 1,099,943 kWh/year in energy savings
 $129,000/year in cost savings
 $15,000 in incentives paid

Long before contemporary libraries began adding baristas among their bookshelves, nine Washington, D.C. area universities banded together to share resources and conserve campus library space. The Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC) was established in 1987 to support those partner universities, including The George Washington University, Georgetown University and Howard University.

Located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, the WRLC headquarters is made up of three climate-controlled storage facilities. Inside those units, books, journals and other resources are stored until they are requested by faculty or students at one of the partner universities.

To keep the collections properly preserved, each unit must maintain a temperature of 60 degrees with 40% humidity. Because of this demand, Timothy Connolly, WRLC director of finance and administration, says energy usage is closely tracked at each facility. With the help of the BGE Smart Energy Savers Program®, the WRLC was able to accurately identify and reduce energy use after it unexpectedly doubled.

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By reducing our environmental impacts with the use of new technology, we are turning our school buildings themselves into a teaching tool.
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Andrew Cassilly, Resource Conservation Manager, Harford County Public Schools
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The new LEDs above this walkway are so bright HCPS could reduce the number of fixtures needed.

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LED lighting in this theater allows for dimming and greatly reduces maintenance costs.

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Sensors in this elementary school library enable lighting by zones for use by small groups.

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High-efficiency T5 fluorescent lights brighten up this gymnasium.

empower maryland

EmPOWER Maryland programs are funded by a charge on your energy bill. EmPOWER programs can help you reduce your energy consumption and save you money. Learn more about EmPOWER Maryland.

The EmPOWER Maryland charge funds programs that can help you reduce your energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and save you money. Since the inception of the EmPOWER Maryland program in 2008, the programs have saved $14.5 billion on installed measures at a cost of $4.1 billion. In addition to new program costs, this charge includes paying off the uncollected costs that were accrued over time by programs required by the EmPOWER statute and authorized by the Commission. In accordance with House Bill 864 the uncollected amounts will be fully paid by the end of 2032.