Meeting Sept. 16, the Bremen Board of Selectmen updated several members of the public and the budget committee on the progress of the efforts to update the heating system in the Town Office.
Heating System Consultant Bob Hardina, whom the town hired to assist them in the process, inspected the boiler Sept. 3, and made several suggestions, said Wendy Pieh, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen.
According to Hardina, the most significant change the town could make would be to take the water off the boiler and install a designated water heater, Pieh said.
“We use almost no water, and a smaller heater would be a lot more efficient,” Pieh said.
Hardina also recommended that the board look into installing a Fujitsu Heater in the clerk’s office. The small, wall-mounted unit would cost $4600 installed, and would save the town a considerable amount on fuel, Pieh said.
Pieh also said that if the efficiency of the building’s heating system is improved, the town will most likely not need to buy oil this year, because the there is enough left over from last year,
“Which is good, because we’re too late to lock in an oil price,” Pieh said.
Along with Hardina’s recommendations, the town will also be conducting an audit of the building through Efficiency Maine.
An agent from Efficiency Maine will inspect the building on Sept. 21, said Bremen resident John Briggs, who met with an Efficiency Maine representative on Sept. 3.
Briggs suggested that a cheap improvement would be to increase the insulation in the Town Office.
“Once the audit is done, we’ll see what [stimulus funds] they’ll give us for specific projects,” Briggs said. “We’ll know better what we should work on.”
The Selectmen will provide an update on the results of the audit and discuss moving forward at their next meeting, on Oct. 7.
