City of Sedgwick

The City of Sedgwick, Kansas (pop. 1,700) was incorporated in 1872 and is located in south central Harvey County on the border with Sedgwick County. The location of Sedgwick is within a triangle formed by the cities of Hutchinson, Newton, and Wichita. This is an ideal location to attract residents who want the pleasures of small town living while being close to big city jobs.

The City originally engaged ESP to conduct an Investment Grade Energy Audit of their facilities, which found that there were several good energy-saving opportunities as well as equipment and systems that were nearing or past their expected useful life. The City also expressed a desire to make improvements to their community center if possible.

ESP was able to secure a $250,000 grant from the State of Kansas to pay for the project as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Although energy savings was going to be able to pay for a significant portion of the necessary improvements, the grant allowed the City to include a wider range of upgrades.

ESP installed new lighting throughout City buildings. Heating and air-conditioning units were replaced at City Hall and the Police Station, and 14 programmable thermostats were added in various buildings to allow for better comfort control and energy-saving setbacks when the buildings are unoccupied. Infrared heaters replaced old unit heaters in the vehicle bays at the Fire/EMS building. Double pane, argon filled, low-E windows were installed in place of single pane windows at the City Offices. New pumps with variable frequency drives were installed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and a variety of energy-saving improvements were made to the Community Center.

Comfort was greatly improved at the City Offices and the City was able to leverage utility dollar savings to address improvements at the Community Center, which is a benefit to all residents in Sedgwick. The City was able to pay for the entire project with Federal grant dollars, so they had no out-of-pocket expenses.