By Kate McNeil

Utilities are not a small budget item at the Hebrew Home for the Aged. In fact, the 19-acre, sevenbuilding campus foots a $1.4 million Con Edison bill every year to keep its residents comfortable.

But thanks to environmentally friendly renovations to the home's physical plant, the institution hopes to cut that bill nearly in half.

A combination of loans and grants totaling $3.9 million (mostly from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) allowed the Hebrew Home to give its physical plant a facelift.

The two-year project, set to finish in December, includes changes big and small - from replacing light bulbs to installing a 300-ton gas-engine driven chiller.

The green energy overhaul will save the Hebrew Home about $500,000 a year and will pay off its loans in just seven.

But money isn't the only thing the Hebrew Home will save. Yearly emissions reduced from the renovations are the equivalent of taking 2,500 cars off the road every year, the home estimated.

Major changes include replacing steam absorbers with the gasengine driven chillers, which will actually help to save in overall gas and fuel oil consumption; redesigning air handlers to provide up to 20 percent more air to the building without jeopardizing energy consumption; and adding motion-sensitive lighting.

George Gancsos, director of plant operations and maintenance at the home, is proud of the transformation. He said the efficiency of his complicated machinery has nearly doubled since the overhaul.

Other plans call for a 500-kilowatt generator that will allow the Hebrew Home to produce part of its own electricity, which will reduce the demand on Con Edison power.

Mr. Gancsos can remotely control the campus' heating and cooling from his office computer and eventually from his Blackberry.

But the wheels are still turning.

"We will do more," Mr. Gancsos said. "There is more to be done."

The home's 870 residents are more than cooperative with the green push.

"Our residents are from a generation where energy was a luxury," said David Weinstein, chief operating officer. "They are always asking, 'Why are all these lights on? Why is that window open?'"

In addition to the new infrastructure, Mr. Weinstein hopes to empower the residents to save energy in their own rooms as well.

"It's their home and their environment," he said. "They have a vested interest in not burning fossil fuels and saving the environment for their children."