| Press Release Archive
Austin Energy receives grant to install
reflective coatings atop commercial buildings
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT)
has awarded another energy efficiency grant to Austin Energy
- this one totaling $32,333 for installation of reflective
roof coatings on commercial buildings.
Studies indicate that use of the white thermoplastic
reflective coating, which can be rolled or sprayed onto flat
roofs, reduces air conditioning use by some 11%. For a 100,000-square-foot
commercial facility this results in annual savings of $65,000
in energy costs over the 12- to-15-year life of the material.
The product is approved by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency and carries the ENERGY STAR® label for
energy efficiency.
Austin Energy's commercial energy efficiency
program has provided a rebate of five cents per square foot
on installation of the reflective material. Last year that
rebate was increased to 10 cents per square foot. The PUCT
grant will add 13 cents to that figure for a total rebate
of 23 cents per square foot, or up to about 20% of the cost.
The PUCT grant will be sufficient to fund the application
of the coating to 250,000 square feet of commercial roofing.
This will save an estimated total of 192,000 kilowatt-hours
(kWh) of energy annually, enough to power about 19 average
homes in Austin.
Austin Energy has received more energy efficiency-related
grants from the PUCT than any other entity in Texas. This
is the sixth such grant this year. Other grants provide for
the retrofitting of 5,000 incandescent exit signs in Austin
commercial buildings with Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology
and the installation of 4,400 energy-saving devices on coin-operated
soda machines citywide. The six grant programs combined will
save almost 6.6 million kilowatt hours (kWh) annually. Austin
Energy's commercial energy efficiency program last year helped
Austin businesses save more than 22 million kWh of electricity.
These demonstration projects are intended
to provide added incentives for the expanded use of new energy
efficiency technology by demonstrating results and providing
additional visibility for these products.
For more information, contact Ed
Clark, Public Information.
Phone: (512) 322-6514
Pager: (512) 802-2000
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