The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office upgraded ventilation system may save the county as much as 40 percent in fuel oil consumption, maintenance supervisor Jim Hopler told commissioners during their Tuesday morning meeting. 

Commissioners approved a final payment on September 18 to Scarborough-based Siemens Industry, Inc. Building Technologies, the company contracted to do the work to the Sheriff's Office. 

The building once served as the county jail. According to conversations on the matter earlier in the year, the ventilation system needed new controls installed to monitor heating and cooling, since the building is no longer used to house 30 or more inmates. 

The total bill to the county for this work was $27,508, as revealed in the conversation between Hopler and commissioners. Hopler said the county paid $8,600 already, so the final balance due came to $18,908.

“We should have a 40 percent decrease in the amount of oil that we use, if all goes well,” Hopler said, adding they of course do not know what kind of winter weather is in store for the county. “We're in a lot better standing than we were a year ago.”

“When the price of oil was even better,” Commissioner William Blodgett interjected.  

In a May meeting with commissioners, Hopler had said the updated system could save the county as much as $10, 242 per year, and pay for itself in savings by the end of the second year.

Added to these savings, the county was able to purchase fuel oil at a lower rate early in the season, around $2.92.

Commissioner Sheridan Bond noted their efforts in the past several years to update fixtures, lighting and windows to reduce energy costs. Many of these upgrades were made possible with support through Efficiency Maine grants.