Ridgefield, CT – The innkeepers of The West Lane Inn in Ridgefield and the Connecticut Green Bank announced the completion of a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financed energy efficiency project at their inn, located at 22 West Lane.
(l-r) Danille Petrie and Christine Carnicelli
The project replaced an old oil-burning heat system with a new heat pump system designed to handle the heating and cooling needs of the 17-room historic property.
The innkeepers, Christine Carnicelli and Danille Petrie, who purchased the inn in the fall of 2019, are working hard to balance the colonial charm of the 1840s building with the need for modern amenities. As they are making cosmetic changes to the inn, they realized an upgrade was needed on their boiler.
The new in-room units are much smaller (and more efficient) than the previous units.
Eastern Mechanical Services, Inc. of Danbury, an HVAC contractor serving Fairfield County since 1985, installed the new equipment. The balance of the project cost, after utility incentives and owner equity, will be paid off over 10 years through the C-PACE assessment. This allows the owners to reap the energy saving benefits immediately while paying for the improvement over time. While the heat pumps will increase electricity usage, the system is replacing a more expensive oil system, which creates an overall energy cost savings that could exceed the project cost over the estimated useful life of the new equipment.
