Greenville Technical College has been awarded $313,745 in federal economic stimulus funds by the South Carolina Budget and Control Board’s State Energy Office to make energy efficiency improvements.

The college will install occupancy sensors in all classrooms and restrooms to turn off lighting fixtures and reduce heating and air conditioning energy consumption when the areas are unoccupied, as well as upgrade lighting fixtures to more energy efficient models.

Several improvements will be made to the heating and air conditioning units to gain greater energy efficiency, such as replacing current air controls with newer models, installing new drives on unit motors, and cleaning coils for better heat transfer.  
 
“Greenville Technical College is using this stimulus grant to make vast improvements at several campuses,” said John Clark, director of the South Carolina Energy Office. “These improvements will help the university save more than $212,000 annually. This project provides an excellent return on investment for taxpayers.”

The state’s two- and four-year colleges are receiving a total of $12.2 million, and state agencies are getting $7.4 million for energy efficiency improvements. The state’s 85 school districts are sharing $20.3 million in grants and loans for energy efficiency.