The Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) provides all police services for the Suffolk County Police District, which comprises the towns of Babylon, Brookhaven Huntington, Islip, and Smithtown, Long Island. The police force has more than 2,500 sworn and 500 civilian members.

The SCPD needed an energy/facilities management expert to identify and implement upgrades that would reduce annual utility and maintenance expenses for its headquarters.

The 130,000-square-foot building, constructed in the 1970s, had energy systems dating back to the original construction. Despite the fact that many areas of the building were unoccupied on nights and weekends, the HVAC system ran continuously, lacking automated controls that would have made it possible to set back temperatures or shut down unoccupied areas. Boilers were old, inefficient, and oversized for the building’s needs. Lighting systems were in similar need of refurbishment. Interiors were lit by T12 lamps with magnetic ballast. Mercury vapor lamps lit outdoor areas, and many parking lot light poles and fixtures and walkway lighting systems were inefficient or damaged by years of abuse.

Selected through a competitive RFP, Constellation Energy's Projects & Services (CEPS) conducted a comprehensive energy audit and undertook projects with the greatest potential for cost and energy savings.

These included interior and exterior lighting fixture retrofits and replacements, variable air volume conversions, installation of a new energy management and control system, replacement of space and domestic hot water heating with new, oil-fired boilers and rooftop HVAC unit refurbishments.

These upgrades resulted in projected annual cost savings of $232,000 and eliminated long-term operation and maintenance problems.

The project was funded from proceeds of a construction bank loan, which were invested in short-term CDs until needed, with interest earned during construction credited to the account and used for additional improvements. The project term is approximately 12 years.