Energy

Based on the graphic above the Town of Brookline has been making strides in improving the carbon footprint we have on our environment. This has been done through a series of Green Projects that have compounded to contribute to the downward curve of our overall greenhouse gases emitted into the environment. Most noticeable is the electricity usage being reduced. Contributing to this are many different projects that range through all different fields. The section below illustrates what has been done to reduce utility usage.

The Town has started and completed a few solar installs on the roofs of the Public Health center and Putterham library. There are currently solar roof installations going on at the Florida Ruffin Ridley School, High School, and Runkle to further the reduction of electricity by creating it in a clean way. After that the Pool/Phys Ed Buildings, the Heath School, and Municipal Garage will be next. Another thing we have done at buildings across town has been installing LED lighting fixtures. On average they save 75% more electricity and last much longer than traditional incandescent light fixtures. The Brookline facilities of Public Safety, Main Library, New Lincoln School, Public Health and Soule Recreation had their existing lighting upgraded to LED as part of grant projects. To add to this the lighting controls in most buildings are monitored by occupancy sensors that will automatically turn off lights in rooms that are not occupied to ensure that lights do not stay on when they are not needed. For our larger HVAC equipment across town we have installed VFD (variable frequency drives) that throttle the electricity to the units (Ex. Fans,Pumps) so that they are not running at their peak and wasting electricity. Another example for the heavy equipment being controlled is setting unoccupied and occupied temperature setpoints to the buildings. By doing this the building only runs (heats/cools) when the building is being occupied so it is not constantly trying to keep a comfortable space when the building has no occupants.

 With these improvements throughout the years we can now look to this graph to see the outcomes of the many green projects coming together. As stated above these projects are still continuing so only better results are to come from these projects.