The Kimball public Library applied for, and recently received, a grant to upgrade the light fixtures at the library to more energy efficient ones.

The grant, which totaled an estimated $1,500, was issued by MEAN (Municipal Energy Association of Nebraska).

The grant program is an incentive to prompt people to upgrade to more energy efficient fixtures and lighting.

“The incentive is to get people off the fence and get them to do this,” said Andrew Ross with MEAN.

Ross said there are different areas where people can upgrade their fixtures. At the library they are upgrading the old T12 lighting fixtures to T8 fixtures. This is a smaller bulb that draws less energy and emits less heat.

By upgrading to these newer fixtures, the city is getting ahead of a possible decline in T12 lighting fixtures availability. Ross said as the technology improves, T12 fixtures will no longer be available.

The savings the T8 fixtures will give the library equivocate to about 30-40 percent of their lighting costs. This is not a discount on their total bill, just the portion that comes from lighting.

Ross said the T8 fixtures will provide some relief to the air conditioning workload, because the lights generate less heat.

The library is also updating the EXIT signs. They are being replaced with LED signs. The savings on that? Ninety percent, Ross said.

The city is further saving money by having their own crews do the work.

Bill Hinton, City of Kimball Electric Department Supervisor, said the electric department is working on the library when the weather forces them inside.

Hinton said they try to get high traffic areas done in the morning before the library opens.

So far they have onside of the library done, with plenty of fixtures left to replace.

Back at MEAN, Ross said the light fixtures and the EXIT signs aren’t the only thing that people can receive a grant to replace. By logging on to wwwnmppenergy.org and clicking on the link for MEAN other businesses can apply.

Ross said the application is for High Bay Lighting, Fluorescent Lighting, Interior Area Lighting, and replacing incandescent EXIT lights with LED.

“We do not do outdoor fixtures,” Ross said.