Success Story: The Beutler Company

Partner Information

Located in McClellan, CA
17,000 s.f. facility
Annual Energy Savings: 296,023 kWh
Prevented 367,040 pounds of pollution

Service and Product Provider

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)
6301 S Street, MS A204
Sacramento, CA 95817
916-732-5438
http://www.smud.org Exit ENERGY STAR

The Beutler Company, a Sacramento HVAC company, had outgrown their facility at Oates Drive and had heard that McClellan Air Force Base was being converted through government assistance to commercial and industrial leased units. They worked through the McClellan Park property manager to move their multi-building operation to a one-unit facility. Beutler also has some of their subcontractors subleasing through them, which further improves their working and energy efficiency.

The 17,000 square foot, two-story office area was remodeled from bare bones military offices to modern business office use within a complex of warehouse bays. The 737 4-lamp 4 foot T-12s were replaced with 624, 2-lamp, 4 foot T-8 fixtures with electronic ballasts, which significantly reduced the illumination load. Upon starting the improvements they discovered that the existing lamps had been on for four years! Needless to say, the foot-candle measurement was meaningless with degradation and burnout. The Sacrament Municipal Utility district (SMUD) provided an incentive for lighting improvements in this portion of the project of $250/kW.

In another portion of the improvement, existing single pane windows were replaced with double panes, insulation and new ductwork were added for the conditioned spaces. In addition, the warehouse area was improved by replacing existing 2-lamp high output magnetic ballast 8” T-12s with 4-lamp 4 foot T-5s with electronic ballasts. In the process, they were able to eliminate approximately 60% of the existing fixtures and in turn, save energy. SMUD also provided financing for the warehouse portion of the project.

Beutler was able upgrade an existing poor-quality facility to a modern business office and warehouse. Improved technologies for lighting, windows, and HVAC allowed them to consider long-term cost-effectiveness and comfort while accommodating their planned move. Staff was moved from multiple facilities across town to one all-inclusive facility. The commercialization of the McClellan base allowed for space to become available making this consolidation possible. Beutler worked with many departments of SMUD to devise a creative use of collateral to secure the loan on the warehouse portion of the project. Beutler has learned to keep looking for ways to work through initial difficulties. In this case, the local utility was a valuable resource in completing the project.