District director of maintenance and operations Gary Pay reported to the school board Thursday meeting with a company that specializes in cutting electricity usage by its customers. Engines using the product start on full voltage and then slowly power down. A capacitor stores the electricity and feeds it to the motor in an even flow. Voltage and amperage both go down. The machine does the same work but uses less electricity.
Different technology is used to cut electricity for lights and for machinery.
For lights the apparatus actually drops the voltage once the light comes on. The ballast of a fluorescent light will last longer because the light is running on less voltage. VC resident Ron Smith is the local dealer for the product. He told the board that Energy Automation Systems Inc. has been in the business for 23 years. The board instructed the superintendent to bring the issue back next month.