NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is being recognized for its energy saving efforts by the U.S. Department of Energy with a special project poster for Energy Awareness Month in October.
Bill Wrobel, director at Wallops, said, “We are extremely pleased that the Department of Energy has recognized the efforts of our personnel to reduce energy consumption at Wallops. The Eastern Shore of Virginia is known for its environmental and wildlife treasures. We want to be part of the solution to maintain the natural resources of the Shore.”
As part of its energy savings program, Wallops replaced fuel-oil fired boilers with high energy efficiency liquefied petroleum gas boilers and upgraded more than 10,000 lighting fixtures. It also upgraded heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in 13 buildings.
Wallops also is pursuing converting HVAC systems in facilities on Wallops Island that support its rocket launch activities to ground source heat pumps.
Through these efforts, Wallops is expected to save 73.7 billion BTU’s annually, enough to heat an estimated 1000 homes on average annually. In addition, the use of 1.5 million gallons of water will be reduced yearly and air emissions will be reduced including sulfur dioxide by 99%, nitric oxide by 50%, carbon monoxide by 39% and particulates by 80%.
More information on NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility is available on the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/wallops
