The DOE Failed Energy Audit

The Obama administration has promoted and invested in energy efficiency. In June, President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced they were investing $346 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in developing and deploying energy efficient technologies. “The most prosperous, competitive economies of the 21st century will be those that use energy efficiently. It’s time for America to lead the way,” Chu said.

The Department of Energy (DOE) failed an energy audit, according to a recently released report by the DOE’s Office of Inspector General. In 2008, the DOE spent $300 million on energy in its federal buildings which total over 9,000. Up to 40 percent of the energy costs were on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). The report estimated that the DOE could save over $11.5 million, or enough energy to “power over 9,800 homes each year.”

Setback controls decrease the temperature difference between the inside and outside of a building during non-working hours. Federal agencies are required to conserve energy by either reducing heat or not using air conditioning during non-working hours. The energy audit tested the Office of Science and National Nuclear Security Administration sites, and found that setback controls were not used in 20 buildings while the “equipment in 15 other buildings had either never been enabled or had deteriorated and was no longer functional, thus making setbacks impossible.”

The report estimated that about 64 percent of the DOE’s buildings do not use setbacks. The buildings that were tested and did not use setbacks “comprised over one million square feet of space.” The report revealed the following results for specific buildings:

• The Office of National Nuclear Security Administration facilities did not use setback systems “in a number of instances.”
• The Y-12 National Security Complex recently leased two of its buildings. The property manger said setback equipment was not used because the owner had not purchased the software needed to enable it.
• The Los Alamos National Laboratory was not using the setback capability in two of its buildings because facility operators and tenants were not trained how to operate it.
• The Oak Ridge National Laboratory lost the ability to operate setback controls in two buildings after an electronic control system failed in 2008. According to the report, “Laboratory officials told us that they elected not to replace it because they planned to implement campus-wide energy conservation measures in the future.”

The report recommended that the Under Secretary of Energy “reemphasize the importance of using setbacks as an energy saving and conservation technique to all of the Department’s programs and sites.” The report also listed five recommendations that the Under Secretary for Science and the Under Secretary for Nuclear Security require federal site mangers to do:

1. Begin using setbacks at each of the DOE’s owned or leased facilities.
2. Ensure site contractors develop and implement policies and procedures requiring that setbacks be used at all DOE facilities.
3. Require future lease agreements to incorporate setback clauses.
4. Train building operations personnel and occupants on the use and benefits of setbacks.
5. Ensure that required maintenance is performed on HVAC systems capable of setbacks.

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