One year after installing new energy-efficient lighting in Town Hall, the savings generated by that work is spurring town leaders to do a similar project at Acton Public Library.

Like the Town Hall project, replacing the library’s existing lighting fixtures with more energy-efficient ones does carry a capital cost. For the Acton Library lighting project, that cost is $111,000. But under the deal structured by Eversource (the former Connecticut Light & Power), the town can move forward with the work without laying out any funds.

The reason is tied to the way that Eversource structures this type of deal with municipalities.

First, an Eversource contractor, in this case PTE Energy, performs an energy audit of the building to identify and quantify the lighting upgrades that will achieve savings. Then PTE Energy estimates the capital cost to complete the lighting project (in this case, $111,000).

But the town does not have to pay this amount. Instead, the utility provides the financing through a combination of a grant and a no-interest loan to the town, paid back by the monthly energy savings the project’s changes yield.

For the library lighting project, Eversource will offer contractor PTE Energy a grant of $44,242 up front to pay for their work. The grant comes from the Connecticut Energy Fund’s Small Business Energy Advantage Program

The remaining $68,758 in capital charges is financed by the town over four years through Eversource. No money changes hands, however. Instead, the utility deducts monthly from the amount of principal the town owes the amount saved in energy charges as a result of the new, more efficient lighting.

“The cost of the project is $68,000 to the town and it has a four-year return on investment. After that, it’s cash-positive to the town,” said First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr.

Even though the cost to the town of the lighting upgrade project at Acton Library will net out to zero, the Town Meeting still would need to authorize the spending of the $111,000 to move forward. Fortuna said he expects to set a special Town Meeting to take this action at the same time as a regular Board of Selectmen’s meeting and have it in the same room.

If town approval is granted, PTE Energy could start work on the project in June.

At Acton Public Library, there are currently 12 different bulb and light fixture designs. All of them date to the major renovation and addition project completed 12 years ago at a time when lighting options were less efficient. For example, the library’s outdoor lights use hot, energy-hogging halogen light bulbs.

Now, with replacement lighting options that are more efficient and that incorporate new technology like LED lighting, capital projects to switch old light fixtures for new ones is an economical choice that gives municipalities a quick payback.