JAY — The Select Board approved spending $52,188.07 from a joint capital reserve account for a new propane-fired condensing boiler at the Livermore Falls wastewater treatment facility.

The new boiler will replace an oil-fired system that has used an average of about 5,000 gallons of heating oil per season, with the more efficient propane system expected to substantially reduce fuel use and operating costs.

Mark L. Holt, superintendent of the Livermore Falls and Jay sewer departments, presented the request to the board Sept. 28. Because the expenditure comes from a joint capital reserve account for the Livermore Falls wastewater treatment facility, both towns must approve it under their interlocal wastewater treatment agreement.

Livermore Falls approved the expenditure Sept. 15, Holt said.

The project was put out to sealed bid, with proposals submitted by ABT of Wilton, Central Maine Plumbing & Heating of Livermore and A. Maurais & Son of Jay. Holt said both towns use the three companies to supply and maintain municipal heating systems. Maurais initially suggested installing a condensing boiler instead of replacing the existing equipment with a conventional cast-iron boiler. The other two contractors were given an opportunity to bid on the alternative system. Maurais submitted the lowest proposal for both options.

“The decision to install a condensing boiler was based on its efficiency compared to the cast-iron boiler,” Holt said in a follow-up email.

Maurais estimated the condensing boiler would save just over $6,000 annually compared with a cast-iron propane boiler, Holt said.

Part of the difference comes from the new boiler’s ability to adjust its output to match heating demand rather than always operating at full capacity.

“Instead of starting and running at the full 1,000,000 BTU capacity and burning the maximum amount of fuel, it can run at an idle, burning 1/10th as much fuel to produce only the BTUs required to heat the space,” Holt said.

At the Sept. 28 meeting, Holt estimated that continuing to use heating oil could cost about $25,000 per year, while the propane condensing system could cost roughly $6,100 annually to operate, based on past fuel use. He told the board the resulting savings would allow the new equipment to pay for itself relatively quickly.

Holt later clarified that the calculation was based on an average annual consumption of about 5,000 gallons of No. 2 heating oil. “The fuel savings are considerable,” Holt told the board.

The boiler is expected to last 25 years or more, according to the information presented to the board.

A. Maurais & Son has ordered the new boiler, Holt said, and the equipment is expected to arrive in about two to three weeks.

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