The new boiler system in Fitchburg High School served as a test lab last week for an energy auditing class that gives high school students college credits and a chance at certification.
The class is organized through a partnership with Mount Wachusett Community College and is sponsored by the Unitil utility company that distributes electricity and natural gas in Fitchburg...
The class spent last Friday gathering energy information in the boiler room where the school recently had an array of five modern boilers installed. They run on natural gas and are expected to use 45,000 therms of gas fewer each year.
Bill Barletta, director of school building maintenance for the district, said it costs $1.1 million to put in the boilers, which are energy efficient. The school is estimated to save $2.9 million in natural gas over the life of the boilers, which is around 25 to 30 years...
The Fitchburg School Department received more than $100,000 in energy efficiency rebates from Unitil. The School Department installed new gas fired boilers at Reingold Elementary School, Memorial Middle School and Fitchburg High School. Both older oil and gas fired boilers at the elementary and middle schools were replaced with natural gas boilers. The high school boilers were replaced with energy efficient boilers.
Click here for the full article.
