A collection of new Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Directorate of Public Works projects is underway in order to make the base more environmentally friendly and save funds on energy for years to come.
DPW is implementing the measures to adhere to Executive Order 13423, which was signed in 2007 and requires federal agencies to become more energy efficient, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's website.
Per the order, JBM-HH must reduce energy consumption by 30 percent by fiscal year 2015, compared to a fiscal year 2003 baseline.
In order to achieve that goal, new equipment and LED streetlights will be installed on both the Fort Myer and Fort McNair portions of the joint base, said Bill Lucas, JBM-HH DPW's energy manager.
The streetlight project was initiated a few years ago through a utilities privatization contract with Dominion Virginia Power and is nearly 100 percent complete, Lucas said.
More than 750 streetlight and parking lot lights have been replaced on the Fort Myer and Fort McNair portions of the joint base, Lucas said. Henderson Hall will be the final phase of the project.
The project is expected to save more than $600,000 over the next 20 years, according to Lucas.
In addition to cost savings, the new streetlamps will also improve safety, Lucas said.
"This type of light is clearer," he said. "The old streetlamps were dull and dim."
There are also plans to convert interior lights to LED lights in Memorial Chapel (Building 480) on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base.
A utility energy services contract (UESC) with Washington Gas and Dominion Virginia Power will bring new energy efficient pump and fan motors to several Fort Myer buildings and a new heating boiler to Building 59 on Fort McNair. Occupancy sensors, which detect people in a room and turn the lights on or off, will also be installed in multiple Fort Myer buildings, according to Lucas.
The UESC project will also include the repair and adjustment of insufficient HVAC systems in Fort Myer Buildings 400, 414 and 415 in order to reduce energy consumption.
In an email to the Pentagram, Lucas wrote that UESC projects are about 15 percent complete and scheduled to finish towards the end of FY 2015. They cost approximately $1.9 million in total and are expected to save approximately $275,000 per year in maintenance and energy costs.
There are still challenges to meeting the 30 percent reduction, Lucas said, the biggest of which is reminding the JBM-HH community to be energy conscious.
Unauthorized use of heaters and other appliances, leaving doors open while the air conditioning or heat are operating, and aging equipment all waste energy and cost money, he said.
But the new improvements will help combat that.
"It's a great thing," he said. "It saves a lot of energy."
For energy saving tips, visit www.femp.energy.gov.
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