Gamble Mill Tavern is a well-established full service restaurant and banquet facility located in a historic building in central Pennsylvania. Co-owner Courtney Confer became increasingly concerned with the efficiency of the restaurant’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, which was over 30 years old. He wanted to upgrade the HVAC system to modern heat pumps that would enable his business to reduce energy consumption and water usage, and improve employee and customer comfort by maintaining comfortable temperatures. However, purchasing and installing equipment was going to require significant capital costs.

In a Bellefonte Intervalley Area Chamber of Commerce newsletter article written by a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Environmental Management Assistance Program (EMAP) Regional Environmental Specialist, Courtney learned about the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Small Business Advantage Grant, which reimburses half of an energy efficiency or pollution prevention project. Although Courtney was happy to find out about this program, he realized the difficulty in completing the application on his own. Courtney contacted EMAP in July 2005 for assistance with completing a grant application.

Courtney and EMAP worked together to develop a grant proposal to upgrade the HVAC system to two 12 seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) heat pumps. One heat pump would replace the existing 40-year-old system that used flow-through water in the condenser, and the other heat pump would replace a 30-year-old inefficient heat pump. In addition, ancillary equipment, such as programmable thermostats, were proposed to be upgraded to match the heat pumps. The flow-through water system used roughly 284,000 gallons of water annually! The upgrades were projected to reduce heating and cooling costs of Gamble Mill Tavern by 40%, with a payback of only 3 years with the reimbursement.

Courtney submitted the grant proposal in September 2005, and DEP announced that Gamble Mill Tavern was awarded the full eligible amount of $6,460 in December 2005. Courtney worked with his contractor, Zimmerman’s Mechanical Service, and all equipment was installed and operational by March 2006.

The upgrades implemented by Gamble Mill Tavern have reduced electricity costs by over $1,600/yr and reduced water costs by $340/yr. The restaurant will save approximately 22,129 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and 284,000 gallons of water usage annually. Gamble Mill Tavern’s energy reduction benefits the environment by removing approximately 14 tons of air emissions reduced related to electricity generation.

EMAP assistance made a difference by helping Courtney realize the cost and environmental savings associated with upgrading Gamble Mill Tavern’s HVAC system and helping him through the grant application process.  The project helped Gamble Mill Tavern reduce operating costs, decrease water consumption, and increase customer and employee comfort.

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“[EMAP] was very helpful and available throughout the [grant] application process.”

- Courtney Confer, Co-Owner
Gamble Mill Tavern