Comfort and Energy Savings Provided by VAC Grant
The Vermont Arts Council has awarded BPAC a $20,016 cultural facilities grant to support installation of heat pumps! The grant must be matched dollar for dollar.
Cultural Facilities Grants help Vermont nonprofit organizations and municipalities enhance, create, or expand the capacity of an existing building to provide cultural activities for the public.
BPAC is looking for donor matching gifts to support the project. We need to match up to $12,000. Other funding sources designed to reduce use of fossil fuels will also contribute to the matching funds.
The immediate impact of the heat pumps will be a more comfortable theater. We expect that the temperature in the theater will be more uniform, eliminating notorious cold spots that often required wearing jackets or shoulder coverings. The fans will be quieter and will improve the acoustics of the theater.
The project will provide heat and cooling to the sound booth and the administrative office. This will be the first time the office and booth have had air conditioning.
The heat pumps are part of a larger effort to reduce operating costs through energy efficiency. This past spring a new roof with R-40 insulation was installed. Many Oldcastle and BPAC donors contributed to that effort and it is having an immediate impact on our heating and cooling costs.
The heat pumps will reduce our dependence on oil for heating and our electric costs for air conditioning. Moving away from oil is important for the environment, but it also shifts us from an unregulated cost to a state-regulated utility.
Ultimately, BPAC expects to move to a solar energy source to further reduce our operating costs and is applying for programs to assist that transition!
Donors interested in supporting the project at any level should send a check made payable to Bennington Performing Arts Center, P.O. Box 1555, Bennington, VT 05201 with the memo “Go Green” or donate online.
Please contact Executive Director Jennifer Jasper for more information.