In April 2007, United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that 96 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions from the Capitol Hill Complex facilities resulted from electricity use throughout the complex and combustion of fossil fuels in the Capitol Power Plant. The report recommended energy audits to identify projects that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
As part of an initial proposal for an energy savings performance contract (EPC), 2RW conducted energy audits at the three buildings of the Library of Congress buildings in Washington, DC: the Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison buildings. The scope of work included identifying, quantifying, and costing energy conservation measures (ECMs) for mechanical and building automation systems.
2RW consulted the American Library Association and the Library of Congress standards for long-term preservation guidelines when selecting energy efficiency options. Some of the primary conservation opportunities 2RW engineers identified include:
Energy savings were analyzed using eQUEST, an hour-by-hour building energy simulation program. 2RW developed energy models which were calibrated to available utility data. The calibrated models served as the baseline against which each conservation measure was quantified.
2RW identified more than $30 million of energy efficiency projects which were project to save more than $3.8 million per year. The conservation measures were project to pay for themselves within the term of the EPC.
OWNER: United States Government, Architect of the Capitol
TIMEFRAME: 2007 – 2008
SIZE: 3,851,654 SF
ESTIMATED ENERGY SAVINGS: $3.8 million/year