New LED lights at McNair Bldg. 39 to reduce energy costs

The Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Directorate of Public Works is currently converting light fixtures in Bldg. 39 on the Fort McNair portion of the joint base in order to reduce energy usage and costs.

Approximately 350 light fixtures in Bldg. 39, the headquarters building on Fort McNair, will be replaced with new, highly efficient LED fixtures, said Bill Lucas, energy manager at JBM-HH DPW.

The project contract was awarded to the Potomac Electric Power Company in October 2015 and is expected to be complete by the end of this month, according to Lucas. The conversion will cost $170,000 and is expected to save 35,000 kilowatts of electricity per year. That adds up to about $3,500 in savings per year.

The conversion project is the latest installment in the joint base's ongoing effort to meet the Army's energy reduction requirements, Lucas said.

"It's about 3 percent per year that we want to reduce base-wide, which is a big number," he said.

And DPW representatives felt that Bldg. 39 was an excellent location for the project.

"We selected that as a candidate because it's a very visible building, everybody gets to see it, and it's a good place to demonstrate this technology, without a doubt," Lucas told the Pentagram.

Plus, many of the old light fixtures in Bldg. 39 had been burning out too frequently, racking up maintenance and operations costs. The new LED light fixtures last for an average of 80,000 hours when used under the right conditions, according to Lucas.

"There have been a lot of issues with maintenance the last few years in Building 39 and the old lights," Lucas said. "They've been burning out too frequently and there's been a lot of issues with the quality of the light for the occupants of the building. There's been a lot of time spent replacing light bulbs. So if you have a light bulb that's supposed to last 80,000 hours, it's something that shouldn't need much maintenance at all, bottom line."

Lucas said the command group has been pleased with the progress of the project, which should finish on schedule.

DPW completed a number of other LED light conversions on JBM-HH in the last calendar year, including projects in Conmy Hall and Memorial Chapel on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base.

Lucas said he and the DPW team are looking at other potential projects to reduce the joint base's energy footprint, including equipment upgrades at National Defense University on the Fort McNair portion of the joint base. Funding for those projects is still pending, he said.

Pentagram Staff Writer Guv Callahan can be reached at wcallahan@dcmilitary.com.