Perfect Games, 1320 Dickinson Ave., recently received a $49,000 rebate from Smart Energy for its use of geothermal heat pumps.

The business, a family-friendly bowling and entertainment site, opened last year.

It is now the newest member of Green Team, an association created by Mayor Ann Campbell to encourage the use of green energy in Ames.

Perfect Games’ geothermal heat pumps had an immediate impact on the environment by saving 115,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. The system also removes 94 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. Altogether, it saves the company around $61,500 in utility costs.

“We decided to install the geothermal system because it made sense both financially and environmentally,” Bryan Kinneer, president of Perfect Games, said. “The $49,000 rebate helped to offset the additional cost of the system and decreased the payback time to around seven years.”

Kinneer said installing the geothermal system has been a win for everyone: Perfect Games; Ames Electric Services; and, possibly most importantly, the environment.

Smart Energy is a program that is part of Ames’ Electric Services. It provides education, incentives and rebates to customers to help reduce their energy consumption.

“Reducing electric consumption by a commercial user or individual customers benefits the entire community because it reduces the demand on the power plant,” Steve Wilson, Electric Services Coordinator for the city of Ames, said in a news release. “By keeping demand for electricity low, especially during times of peak usage, we reduce our need to produce or purchase additional electricity. Perfect Games has joined Ames Electric Services in partnering to protect and promote a cleaner environment for Ames.”

Campbell signed the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement in 2007. Along with the City Council, her goal is to reduce Ames’ carbon footprint on city-owned buildings, streetlights and vehicles by 15 percent within the next four years.

She presented Perfect Games with the Mayor’s Green Team Award on June 8.

“As a city of Ames family destination, we are pleased to report Perfect Games is a green company that has invested in our children’s future,” Kinneer said. “We are confident our patrons will appreciate our environmental efforts and reward us with their business.”