Raymond Village Library has seen the light

As winter settles into the Windham-Raymond area, temperatures drop precipitously, and darkness comes early. In order to provide more efficient and cost-effective services to the community, Raymond Village Library has acted to improve their operations and lessen their impact on the environment.

In the past, the library had the opportunity to install three heat pumps to condition the library’s space. This afforded the ability to provide air-conditioned space during the summer months and to lessen the use of an old forced hot air heating system fueled by kerosene. Last winter, the Raymond Village Library only used the forced air heating system as an emergency backup. The library consumed less than 50 gallons of K-1 that season, saving money and reducing their environmental impact at the same time.

This fall, the library finished converting all the indoor and outdoor building lights from fluorescent and incandescent to LED bulbs, which have no glass or mercury. With this upgrade, the library expects to save substantial electricity, to provide uniform and brighter lighting levels throughout the building, and to benefit from the 35,000-hour (or more) life expectancy of the new bulbs.

“The Library Board is looking at replacing the parking lot lighting fixtures next year. These two fixtures now account for a large part of our electricity consumption,” said Mark Jordan, Board member and Building Maintenance Committee Chair. “We are committed to being responsible stewards of our library and the environment. We are all excited about what the future may bring.”

Allison Griffin, Library Director appreciates the way the Board cares for the library building. “Board members repainted the front of the library this summer and volunteers installed a new library sign. With the lighting changes we look great inside and out!”

What will the future hold? “I can’t help but look to the sky. Our move to save energy and install long lasting bulbs not only helps with our operating costs, but also will provide new educational opportunities for our patrons”, said Sheila Bourque, Library Board President. “LEDs use at least 75% less energy, and last 25 times longer than incandescent lighting. According to the Department of Energy, widespread use of LED lighting has the greatest potential impact on energy savings in the United States. By 2027, widespread use of LEDs could save about 348 TWh (compared to no LED use) of electricity: This is the equivalent annual electrical output of 44 large electric power plants (1000 megawatts each), and a total savings of more than $30 billion at today's electricity prices. We want to do our small part.”

The Raymond Village Library is looking forward to sharing their future plans with the community and hope that they can count on your support as we move toward a future that will benefit their patrons, community and planet!