Plain Township officials are taking steps to save money on their utility bills.

The trustees voted earlier this month to have Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls conduct an energy audit on the five township-owned facilities: the township offices at 45 Second St., the aquatics center, the Plain Township Fire Department, the maintenance department on Reynoldsburg-New Albany Road and the old township offices at 39 Second St.

The energy audit is free for the township.

Mark Zappe, an energy-solutions account executive with Johnson Controls, said he first would review the township's utility data for the past year. He said he would evaluate gas, electric, water and sewer costs, compare the data against national standards and present his findings to the trustees.

"Once we have that, we will come out an actually walk through the building," he said.

During the walk-through, Zappe said, he will look at lighting, the heating and cooling systems, temperature settings, insulation and the quality of windows and doors, among other items.

"A lot of it tends to relate (to) lighting systems," he said, adding that lighting is one of the main money-grabbers he sees in public buildings. "We will often find lighting is low. Lighting technology has changed enough (that) we can increase the light levels and decrease the electrical consumption."

He also said he sees problems with temperature settings because employees often set the thermostat at a specific temperature and forget to change it for the nights and weekends, when people are not in the building.

Though the energy audit is free for the township, Zappe said, he will address the trustees after the walk-through to show them how they could save money through replacing such equipment and installing insulation and energy-efficient doors and windows.

"Some examples of past projects we've done include replacing roofs and windows. We have installed insulation," Zappe said. "We are doing a $17-million project on Franklin County buildings."

If township officials choose to do some of the suggested projects, Johnson Controls could be contracted to complete the projects if they are selected through a public-bidding process.

Zappe said that if the township were to use his company, Johnston Controls offers a guarantee that the energy savings the township would realize would pay for the project entirely. If it doesn't, Zappe said, his company would pick up the tab.

Trustee Bud Zappitelli said he thinks this is a great opportunity to save taxpayers money.

"We are doing everything we can in the township to cut costs," he said. "It's going to cost the township nothing, and they will give us some ideas."

He said he also is interested to see what ideas Johnson Controls presents about the aquatics center.

Zappe mentioned to the trustees earlier this month that the pool facility intrigues him from the standpoint of alternative energy supplies, such as geothermal or solar heating.

"We want to take a real good look," Zappe said. "We are also seeing success using solar thermal versus natural gas to heat the water."

J.B. Bowe, township administrator, said he is working with Zappe to get the paperwork completed so the audit could be finished by year's end.

"It's always a good idea to see if your buildings are efficient as possible," Bowe said.

gmartineau@thisweeknews.com