Living Green

HOTCHKISS, Colo. — Hotchkiss Fire Chief Doug Fritz is proud of his new five-bay, 9,000-square-foot fire station in large part because the utility bills are less than $50 a month.

By using photovoltaic solar power for energy and solar-heated water, the station is saving taxpayers a bundle, he said.

The old 3,700-square-foot building, which Fritz said was ancient, used about $250 per month for electricity and from $300 to $500 per month on heating, he said.

This month’s electricity bill was $38, he said, and $25 of that was used by the ambulance district, housed in the same building.

Even during winter months, the heating bill runs from $100 to $200 in the new building, Fritz said.

The savings didn’t start right away in the building that was completed about a year ago, Fritz said, because the wrong meter had been installed.

A new meter was installed in December to allow energy to be fed back into the electric grid system, and it has resulted in substantial savings, he said.

Power is being reserved for days when it’s not sunny, Fritz said, and the building will always be ready for use in times of disaster.

“It’s designed so that if we have a really large-scale emergency the building can be used as a command post or operations center,” he said. “With solar power and heat we would be able to operate the building off the grid in all four seasons.”

The cost of the $1 million building was eased by a $500,000 energy assistance grant from the state Department of Local Affairs, Fritz said, but the land cost $420,000.

“We have a very large mortgage,” he said.

Fritz said geothermal building is popular with local governments, and it was used in the recent renovation for Montrose City Hall, but solar is right for Hotchkiss.

“Geothermal is the right choice for people who really need to air condition,” he said. “But that’s not really necessary here, and we have swamp coolers that work just fine.”

After the building was completed, it was inspected for any place where energy could be saved, he said. Small measures such as using fluorescent bulbs and putting battery chargers on timers helped with the savings.

Improving the building won’t stop there, Fritz said, and he expects that it will be expanded soon.

“We’re looking to increase one more time, maybe by 30 or 40 percent, or maybe even by double,” he said. “And it might happen pretty soon.”

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E-mail Beverly Corbell at bcorbell@gjds.com.