When the energy management coordinator, Bill McLeod, came on board about 11 years ago, he was particularly interested in looking at how the mechanical systems might be retooled in order to save some money. During his examinations, he found that not enough attention or money was being applied to the systems' maintenance and repair, and many systems were not operating in peak condition. This was particularly true where the boilers were concerned.
As it turned out, the existing firetube boilers needed a large amount of maintenance. Every year the district was shelling out between $50,000 and $100,000 for tube replacements, tube sheet repairs, and other boiler repairs. McLeod decided something needed to be done. In addition to wanting to save the money being spent on annual repairs, he wanted equipment that required less maintenance and was more efficient than the existing boilers.