Energy Audit Shows DOE How to Get Its Own House in Order
Energy auditors found temperature "setback controls" lacking, broken or unused in roughly two out of three buildings sampled, including some of DOE's newest buildings at the Oak Ridge National Lab.
July 24, 2009
The U.S. Department of Energy could save enough electricity at four sites to power more than 9,800 homes a year -- just by turning down the heat or air conditioning when its workers leave for the day.
Audited were 55 large buildings at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee; the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico; and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state.
Gotta love the headline on this AP article, "Audit says Energy Department could save energy" -- an audit will show any building could save energy. The story by Duncan Mansfield hints that this revelation is an embarrassment for DOE; in fact it's a stellar demonstration for every building owner and operator that the performance of even the most sophisticated buildings can be improved through an energy audit.