The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Energy efficiency proves to be good business
For businesses in Lake and Geauga counties, utilizing environmentally positive practices not only benefits the planet but their bottom lines as well.
Lake County Commissioner John Hamercheck sees a wide overlap between responsible business stewardship and aspects like energy conservation and efficiency.
“Good business practices logically lead you to more energy efficient systems,” he said. “When equipment is at end of service life, it makes sense to take advantage of rebates, incentives, grants because you offset any additional costs.
“When you take an older building and you start retrofitting necessary upgrades, you start putting in energy-efficient systems,” he continued. “It’s not a cliche or a myth, you really can get your investment back where it literally pays for the new equipment just by using it.”
He understands how initial sticker shock may lead business owners to be wary of making significant changes.
“Sometimes energy-efficient systems can be 25 to 35% more than a conventional system, but the other funding sources offset that typically,” he said. “You also get the immediate return on investment.”
Buckeye Relief, a medical marijuana processing facility in Eastlake, is a prime example of efficient energy usage, according to Hamercheck.
“They are an example of a clean, modern facility,” he said. “It’s high efficiency in design. They reclaim and recycle the condensate water from their HVAC systems.”
Not only does this save on their water bill, it eliminates the need to source water through a municipality’s treatment center. This, in turn, contributes to a lowered processing demand on the facility, further reducing energy usage throughout the region.
“If regulatory opportunities presented themselves they would be able to take the part of their product that ends up being waste and compost it and return back into the environment,” he added.
While not part of the private sector, the Lake County Administration Building
currently being constructed in Painesville also takes advantage of multiple energy conservation aspects. These are not only expected to save in costs but will also prove beneficial to the environment.
Hamercheck pointed to the building’s HVAC and lighting systems which will be aware of occupancy and only run as needed.
He also spoke of new boiler efficiency systems that reduced demand across Lake County offices.
“The efficiency went up so much that the gas company called us to ask us what was wrong with our meters,” he said.
A fundamental aspect of effective energy efficiency comes down to practicality.
“You really have to dial in systems to the right size,” Hamercheck said. “There was a time that, in trying to be more energy efficient, you would have places with fluorescent lights disconnecting half of them, thinking they were saving electricity.
“What they weren’t realizing is that the transformers were still running. It’s not dumping electricity into usable lights but just burning off the electricity as raw heat.”
Educating business owners on effective strategies appears as ground zero for wide-scale environmental impact.
“There’s still a long way to go in educating business owners,” he said. “People need to know that it’s not the same old systems and practices. Architects and engineers have had to evolve. There’s a tremendous education component. Engineers need to do a better job of educating their customers.”
This need for proper environmentally related education is echoed by Bob Parks, the owner of Mentor’s SafeAir Contractors. His company handles and disposes of hazardous materials that are often found throughout businesses in Lake and Geauga counties. This serves not only as a convenience to businesses, but critical in sustaining the quality of the surrounding environment.
Parks feels businesses need to be cognizant of how they dispose of waste materials like freon from air conditioning units, the mercury found in fluorescent lights, and asbestos in the walls of older buildings.
“Usually, it’s all an afterthought,” he said. “Freon and asbestos are rarely thought of unless you have a consultant involved to remind business owners of such things.
“There’s a lot of businesses that don’t think when they’re doing interior renovation or demolition that they need to have suspect business materials analyzed to see if there’s asbestos in it so they don’t expose other occupants or themselves to the material.”
Other businesses in the area are also getting in on the disposal market as more and more businesses seek assistance in properly getting rid of dangerous materials that could adversely affect the environment. Owner Nils Widing’s Lake County Green has been similarly disposing of business and residential waste from their Willoughby headquarters since 1999.
Waste disposal is an environmental concern not limited to the industrial or manufacturing level alone. Painesville coffee shop Starfish and Coffee have committed to using only biodegradable paper products. Their plastic utensils are likewise made with corn, allowing for much quicker degradation.
Efforts like those from Starfish and Coffee come amid a recent report from advocacy group Ocean Conservancy that finds approximately 150 metric tons of plastic currently polluting the earth’s oceans. Their findings report an additional 8 metric tons being added every year.
Lake County’s ECM Biofilms is among the forefront in combating such an issue. It has developed an additive that, when incorporated to manufactured plastics, allows for enhanced biodegradability. The company faced a 2015 lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission that challenged the validity of their claims that plastics made with ECM’s “masterbatch pellets” will begin breaking down and reentering the earth as compostable waste within 900 days. In 2017 they were forced to acknowledge that products only reach 49.28% biodegradation within their stated 900-day timeframe.
Even with their reduced claims ECM can still state that “the plastic products produced with ECM MasterBatch Pellets can be priced competitively with, and have the same mechanical characteristics as, their traditional non-degradable products, but will be much more sustainable and environmentally-friendly because of their preferred end-of-life.”