El Paso County’s energy-saving measures, including closing most offices on Fridays, have netted a cost savings of nearly $550,000.

County officials couldn’t say how much was saved through specific measures, however, because too many variables figure into the equation, including weather, county spokesman Dave Rose said.

County commissioners decided to close the County Administration Building, 27 E. Vermijo Ave., and other county offices on Fridays starting in November 2007. In January, the Clerk and Recorder Office began closing two of three locations on Fridays as did the Health Department.

Commissioners were told in late 2007 that the Friday shutdown and other steps to curtail energy use would save about $300,000 a year.

But the county did better than that, saving $549,467 last year, Rose said.

Rose said the biggest factor was the county’s central utility plant that heats and cools the County Administration Building, the courthouse and Metro Jail. The utility plant, which cost $5.5 million, began operations in 2005 and supplied the county building and courthouse. The Metro Jail was added last year, Rose said.

Savings measures:

• Friday closings. Thermostats are adjusted on Thursday afternoon and reset on Sunday afternoon.

• Gradual replacement of heating and cooling units with more energy-efficient models.

• Adding building insulation and installing energy-efficient light bulbs as old ones burn out.

• Installing motion detectors that turn lights on and off in unused hallways and stairwells and some offices and conference rooms.

• Swapping copy machines for more energy-efficient machines when the leases run out.

Although the county doesn’t know how much each measure saved, Rose said, “A half million dollars in savings is sizable. This pretty much represents the best steps they could take.”

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Call Zubeck at 636-0238

Patty Crossey, left, reads to Wayne Armstrong as he plays with Crossey’s dog, Jesse, on his bed Monday, December 1, 2008, at Springs Village Care Center. Crossey, who has Multiple Myeloma, visits nursing homes, hospitals and hospice patients with Jesse, a Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette