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MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. — Taking a tip from the town of Bedford and its much buzzed-about Energize Bedford program, Mount Kisco is stepping up its efforts to implement proactive energy-saving changes and educate its citizens about cost-efficient energy incentives.
At Monday’s Board of Trustees meeting, Village Manager Jim Palmer presented an update on a number of initiatives devised by the village’s Energy Advisory Panel (EAP), including a proposal for switching the village's streetlamps to LED technology.
Palmer said the panel plans to meet with several companies that have implemented LED street lighting for other communities, which will then install some samples for the panel, the trustees and members of the planning board to evaluate.
Palmer said that currently, the village uses high pressure sodium lighting and mercury vapor lights – both types are expensive and energy inefficient. “We have the potential to significantly reduce our energy costs by switching over to the LED street lighting,” he said.
“I’m glad we’re moving forward with the LED,” Mayor Michael Cindrich said. In terms of Con Edison’s charge rate, “The kilowatt hour use would be less with LED,” said Cindrich.
But, Palmer noted, switching to LED would typically require a whole new fixture to go on the existing streetlamp, and as the LED technology continues to evolve, prices for the lighting itself become increasingly competitive.
Aside from new village lighting, the Energy Advisory Panel is working on rolling out its own Energize Mt. Kisco program by September. Like Energize Bedford and similar initiatives in other towns within the Northern Westchester Energy Action Consortium, the program will work to educate Mount Kisco homeowners and commercial property owners about the energy solutions available to them and existing funding opportunities.
“Even though we did have a very mild winter last year, given the housing stock in the village,” said Palmer, “I think it would definitely be a benefit to a majority of our homeowners to see what an energy assessment can do and see what else they can have to improve energy efficiency.”
Cindrich also drew attention to another incentive, this one designed by Con Ed to encourage people to purchase more energy-efficient appliances. The company has implemented a program in which residents can have their outdated refrigerator or freezer picked up for a cash rebate, said Cindrich.
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