Geiger Green Initiatives

Green at Geiger

We feel that it is our responsibility as a company and as individuals to take an active role in becoming more eco-friendly and energy efficient. Our company has already achieved significant reductions in energy consumption by, among other things…

• Automation of boiler circulation pumps and envelope temperature saves 60,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity and 12,000 gallons of heating fuel/year.
• New variable speed air compressor saves 95,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity/year.
• Heat reclamation from air compressors saves 3,200 gallons of heating oil/year.
• Replacement of over 1300 light fixtures with high efficiency units and motion sensors saves over 400,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity/yr.
• Automation of air-conditioning in graphics saves over 50,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity/yr.

These changes, alone, result in an annual reduction of electricity usage by 840,000 kilowatt hours and 14,000 gallons of fuel oil. We will save some $150,000 each year, but we will also keep 816 tons of green house gases out of the air, the equivalent of taking 136 cars off the road.

In addition…

• We currently recycle about 230 tons/yr of high grade paper with plans in the works to capture newsprint/ground wood, daily date backing, cardboard, and plastic wrap for another ~100 tons/yr in the future.

This means a reduction of another 1,055 tons of greenhouse gases, the equivalent of 175 cars off the road and 7,220 trees saved.

• The company also invested $120,000 to remove 87,000 square feet of roof drain out of the city’s sewer system and 48,000 square feet of roof drain water out of Hart Brook, an endangered inner-city waterway. We have re-piped the entire roof surface drain system out to a new RipRap, Plunge Pool, and Level Lip Spreader at the lower elevation end of our property designed to slow, cool settle, filter and disperse our roof rain water. The project went live in time for the first thunderstorm in late June 2008.

And this is just the beginning...

NOTE: The above calculations were made by our Facilities Manager, Ray Bergeron using these resources:

http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html

http://www.uwsp.edu/CNR/wcee/keep/Mod1/Flow/Greenhouse_Gas.htm

http://www.dpsdesign.org/files/file/presentations/CSI_slides.pdf

Geiger Green in the Press:

http://www.efficiencymaine.com/releases/07-LKG-0326GeigerWhiteWEB.pdf