Practicing energy efficiency jiu-jitsu

Legacy Jiu-Jitsu Academy and the City of Richland recently worked together to make lighting, heating, air conditioning, and window and door improvements that will save money and energy. In all, the project completed under the city's Energy Efficiency and Commercial Facade Improvement Programs will reduce the academy's energy use by more than 10,800 kilowatt-hours and save its owners approximately $800 annually.

Dawn Senger, energy specialist at the City of Richland, is proud of this project and helping Legacy Jiu-Jitsu reach its project goals through energy efficiency incentives.

'Saving electricity ultimately saves the City of Richland and its utility customer money,' said Senger. 'While the owners have thus far enjoyed the improved winter performance, they are excited about reduced cooling costs and better comfort for students and parents observing classes during the summer.'

Benefits include more uniform lighting, and enhanced color and contrast for classes and training activities. The LED lamps have a much longer life, which will reduce maintenance costs. The new triple-paned windows with tinted glazing has reduced heat loss and significantly reduced glare.

The project included new windows and doors on the front of the building, window tinting, signage, lighting retrofits and a web-enabled programmable thermostat. More than half of Legacy Jiu-Jitsu's energy and cost savings come from the lighting upgrade.

The city's Commercial Facade Improvement Program provides up to $20,000 in matching funds to businesses and building owners for exterior building improvement projects totaling $40,000 or more. Richland's Economic Development Department, Economic Development Committee of volunteers and City Council approved the project. Richland Energy Services, the city's electric utility, completed all inspections and evaluations of the energy efficiency measures. Overall, the city offset half the project's cost, enabling Legacy Jiu-Jitsu to make more improvements than originally planned.

The project was initiated in part through the Bonneville Power Administration's commercial energy efficiency sector initiative. Bonneville makes funds available to consumer-owned utilities such as Richland Energy Services through the initiative. These grants help save electricity so that Bonneville can meet the Northwest's growth needs without acquiring additional generation. This means the carbon-free electricity generated at the region's 31 dams and one nuclear plant can continue to meet customer needs for years to come.

'For many years, Bonneville has funded energy efficiency projects throughout the region to ensure the federal system can continue to cost-effectively serve consumer-owned utilities across the Northwest,' said Eric Mullendore, BPA program manager. 'Projects like this lighting and window upgrade continue to help the region hedge against fluctuating power prices while simultaneously meeting its clean energy goals.'

Megan Phillips, co-owner of Legacy Jiu-Jitsu, says she is happy about the partnership and financial support. 'We are grateful to participate in the city's programs and look forward to lower electric bills and increased comfort for our students and their parents,' she said. 'We could not have done this on our own and are pleased to be part of the Northwest's efforts to save energy and money.'​

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