Fairfax County offers an outstanding program that assists non-profit organizations in making energy-efficient improvements to their facilities. For the Vienna Moose Lodge, this program could provide a $10,000 grant toward the replacement of our aging HVAC system.
The Vienna Moose Lodge strongly aligns with the goals of this program:
• We are a non-profit organization located in Fairfax County
• Our facility supports numerous community and non-profit groups, including church organizations, James Madison High School groups, Boy Scouts, National Charity League, Young Men’s Service League, VYS, VYI, Vienna Rotary, and many others
• Our current HVAC system is more than 20 years old, is failing, and consumes significantly more energy than modern systems
• The replacement system we have specified is substantially more energy efficient than our current equipment and exceeds standard efficiency expectations for comparable systems
Based on these factors, we believe the Lodge is an ideal candidate for this grant program and that our project clearly supports Fairfax County’s stated energy-efficiency goals.
However, we are currently facing resistance regarding the final qualification requirement tied to efficiency standards.
In simple terms, the HVAC system serving our Banquet Hall is a large commercial unit with 25 tons of cooling capacity. Fairfax County administrators typically rely on Energy Star ratings to evaluate efficiency for smaller HVAC systems under 20 tons. Unfortunately, Energy Star does not provide ratings for systems of our size. As a result, County program administrators are now requiring efficiency standards beyond the traditional Energy Star benchmarks in order for larger systems to qualify.
We believe this creates an unfair barrier for organizations like ours that are making meaningful investments in energy-efficient upgrades.
With more than 750 Vienna Moose Lodge members residing in Fairfax County, we feel it is important to raise this issue with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and advocate for fair consideration under the program guidelines.
We respectfully ask for your support by adding your name to the petition below. Your participation can help demonstrate the importance of this project to both our Lodge and the broader community we serve.
Please consider signing the form below, by providing your email address. Thank you!