Torrance

The city’s Energy Management Awards, given to residents and businesses showing responsibility and energy-use awareness, named five winners whose efforts have conserved enough electricity to meet the needs of 424 homes, officials said.

The Broadway department store was given the commercial sector award after replacing gas-fired boilers with energy-efficient water heaters and changing its indoor lighting systems. The store also set up an energy awareness training program for employees. The measures conserved enough energy to meet the needs of 167 average households.

Other winners were: Del Amo Pacific Corp., residential sector, for revamping lighting systems and installing additional insulation in several housing units; South Torrance High School, educational sector, for changing heating systems and installing motion sensors in areas of the campus to reduce unnecessary use of electricity; Charter Pacific Hospital, public use sector, for using more energy-efficient equipment and instituting a training program for employees, and Matrix Science Corp., industrial section, which in addition to installing energy-conserving air conditioners, installed energy savers such as timers, better thermostats and better lighting systems.

The awards program, sponsored by the Torrance Environmental Quality and Energy Conservation Commission, was begun in 1979 to encourage energy conservation and awareness in Torrance. Since then, 39 individuals, households, firms or agencies have received awards.