WESTPORT, Conn. — Metropolitan Family Services, the recipient of the 2012 AHR Expo Innovation awards donation, has reported monthly savings of approximately $300 from the HVAC controls they purchased using the donation.

Metropolitan, a Chicago-based organization that provides services and counseling for families in need, received the nearly $12,000 donation in January 2012, using it to upgrade the controls for the rooftop HVAC units and boiler system.

According to Ted Thelen, family director, Metropolitan, the facility spends approximately $50,000 a year on energy costs with almost half of that amount used to operate the boiler and rooftop units.

“The new controls upgrade allows both systems to work in tandem more efficiently and provide consistently comfortable room temperatures for the facilities year-round,” Thelen said. “In addition to covering nearly triple the current square footage, we should realize close to $4,000 in energy savings per year.”

The organizers of the AHR Expo are pleased with how the donation has turned out.

“For more than 156 years, Metropolitan Family Services has been helping thousands of families cope with various challenges through a variety of human services,” said Clay Stevens, president of International Exposition Co., which produces and manages the AHR Expo. “We are delighted that this donation will help make their constituents more comfortable while significantly reducing their energy bill.”

Publication date: 4/1/2013