Ballston Lake, NY (December 1, 2021) Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) embarked on a government-funded project to update lighting and introduce water conservation solutions at three of their facilities. These were the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville, Northeast Correctional Complex (NECX) near Mountain City, and Northwest Correctional Complex (NWCX) in Tiptonville.
Centrica Business Solutions was awarded a three-year contract in 2017 to replace old lighting fixtures in all three facilities with LED lamps, drivers, and chipsets. More than 1,300 toilets, showers, sinks, urinals, and combination water valves were replaced at the DeBerry location with I-CON water conservation valves to regulate water usage.
“These institutions date back to the eighties, so there was a mix of incandescent and fluorescent lamps that were old and not energy efficient. Staff spent a great deal of time replacing them,” explains Ken Scalf, Director, Office of Facilities, Planning and Construction at TDOC. “We also wanted to prevent the intentional waste of water by inmates.”
It is predicted that total annual savings will be $907,109. Water conservation measures at the DeBerry facility are forecast to save 20,618,704 gallons a year with a value of $172,579, while total lighting costs, including power and maintenance, will be 38.8% lower.
At NECX, projections show that total lighting costs will be 50% lower, a saving of $150,526 a year, and at NWCX they will reduce by 34.5%, saving $267,663. Carbon emission savings across the three projects are equivalent to taking 605 cars off the road for one year, more than 6.9 million miles less driven by one car, or 313,259 gallons of gasoline consumed or the annual energy use 335 homes.
The Centrica Business Solutions team worked within the tight security restrictions of the prison environments and, more recently, dealt with further restrictions implemented because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Centrica Business Solutions has done an admirable job. The team worked with our institutions to move across the compounds safely, as space became available, or worked in close proximity to inmates with the appropriate measures in place for everyone to remain safe. We were very happy with their work,” added Ken Scalf.
Chris Covell, Head of Centrica Business Solutions North America, added, “We are delighted to help TDOC deliver some impressive savings both in terms of state funding and carbon emissions. The Centrica Business Solutions team has done a great job working in severely restricted circumstances within the secure space of the correction facilities to deliver tangible results to our customer.”
