Oct 17 2012
Cypress Envirosystems today announced that the U.S. Government General Services Administration (GSA) has selected the Wireless Pneumatic Thermostat (WPT) for participation in its Green Proving Ground (GPG) program.
This program leverages the GSA’s vast real estate portfolio as a “proving ground” for innovative building sustainability technologies, and plans to lead market transformation through the adoption of proven technologies. The WPT is one of 12 technologies that were selected from a pool of over 140 applicants for the 2012 program. The GSA will use the WPT to retrofit approximately 100,000 square feet of office space in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., the second largest federal office building after the Pentagon.
According to Kevin Powell, Program Manager for GPG, “The GSA selected funded projects with the greatest potential to meet the GSA’s sustainability goal,” which includes 30 percent metered energy reduction by 2015 versus 2007 levels. The WPT met the GSA requirements because it is designed to be a cost-effective way to transition from pneumatic to digital thermostat controls, which reduces energy use by 18 to 30 percent. The GSA is the single largest property manager in the U.S. with over 354 million square feet of space in over 9,600 buildings – a substantial number of these buildings still use pneumatic thermostats and can be retrofitted using the WPT.
“We are honored that the WPT was selected by the GSA for inclusion in the Green Proving Ground,” said Harry Sim, CEO of Cypress Envirosystems. Over the past four years, the WPT has been successfully deployed in hundreds of buildings across North America. We are confident that we will be able to make a significant contribution to the GSA’s sustainability goals, and to realize significant savings for the government.”
Inclusion in the GPG builds on a number of successful federal and local government projects that used Cypress Envirosystems’ technologies to reduce energy consumption. In 2011, NASA deployed the WPT to retrofit 14 buildings and over 1.4 million square feet at the Ames Research Center under a Utility Energy Service Contract with Pacific Gas & Electric. Cypress’s technologies have also been successfully installed by VA Medical Centers, the Social Security Administration, and Capitol federal buildings in Washington, D.C. Also, the WPT was deployed as part of two California Energy Commission (CEC) programs funded under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. CEC case studies documented electricity savings of 27% and gas savings of 51%, and investment payback periods of less than 24 months.
The GSA GPG study will be designed and evaluated by independent researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in coordination with the GSA and the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). The findings are expected to be published in the fourth quarter of 2013 and will be used to support the development of GSA performance specifications and inform decision making within GSA, other federal agencies, and the real estate industry.
Source: http://www.cypressenvirosystems.com