Improved Energy Management in the Facility Design Process Should Reduce Operating Costs for DOD
PLRD-83-46: Published: Apr 8, 1983. Publicly Released: Apr 8, 1983.
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GAO reported on the Department of Defense (DOD) effort to design energy-efficient buildings for military use and the need for improved procedures in this regard.
GAO found that energy management methods used by DOD in the design process do not ensure that the most economical, energy-efficient, new buildings are being built for military use. While DOD has developed energy guidelines, set energy usage objectives, and required energy analyses of designs to reduce energy usage in facilities, these actions are not ensuring that energy reduction goals are being met. GAO found that: (1) energy budgets do not provide a means for determining whether design goals have been met; (2) energy guidelines are inconsistent among the services, and the Army and the Navy implement conservation requirements differently; (3) energy analyses are not always submitted by the architect-engineer, those received are not being adequately reviewed, and the Army and Navy construction agencies are not ensuring that errors in them are corrected; and (4) the Army and the Navy are not always ensuring that firms hired have the expertise needed to design energy-efficient facilities.
Recommendations for Executive Action
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file and is no longer tracking implementation. Action was initiated but full implementation was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should require that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics develop and issue new DOD energy budgets for the various building types and climatic zones and rescind the interim budgets.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated but full implementation was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should require that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics issue guidance to the services clearly describing all the factors and assumptions used to calculate budgets and how they are to be used.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated but was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should require that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics require the services to perform additional energy analyses to take into account local environmental conditions, operations, and special project characteristics not considered in the budgets which might significantly affect energy usage.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Closed - Implemented
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should require that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics give the services technical assistance in implementing energy budgets.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated, but full implementation was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should require that the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics require services to report to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Installation and justify instances when the estimated energy usage for a design deviates from its energy budget by 15 percent.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated, but full implementation was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to consolidate, for easy reference, all the energy conservation requirements applicable to facility designs.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated, but full implementation was not verified.
Recommendation: The Secretaries of the Army and the Navy should direct the Chief of Engineers, Army, and the Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), to establish controls to ensure that required energy analyses are submitted.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Navy
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated, but full implementation was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretaries of the Army and the Navy should direct the Chief of Engineers, Army, and the Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), to establish controls to ensure that required energy analyses are submitted.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Army
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated, but full implementation was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretaries of the Army and the Navy should direct the Chief of Engineers, Army, and the Commander, NAVFAC, to establish quality assurance procedures over energy analyses to ensure that all are properly reviewed for completeness and reasonableness and that design firms correct all significant errors and omissions in them.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Army
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated, but full implementation was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretaries of the Army and the Navy should direct the Chief of Engineers, Army, and the Commander, NAVFAC, to establish quality assurance procedures over energy analyses to ensure that all are properly reviewed for completeness and reasonableness and that design firms correct all significant errors and omissions in them.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Navy
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated, but full implementation was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretaries of the Army and the Navy should direct the Chief of Engineers, Army, and the Commander, NAVFAC, to state, when appropriate, that energy conservation expertise is a significant factor in the selection process and require that such expertise be evaluated during the selection process when the contract requires an energy analysis.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Army
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated, but full implementation was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretaries of the Army and the Navy should direct the Chief of Engineers, Army, and the Commander, NAVFAC, to state, when appropriate, that energy conservation expertise is a significant factor in the selection process and require that such expertise be evaluated during the selection process when the contract requires an energy analysis.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Navy
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated, but full implementation was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretaries of the Army and the Navy should direct the Chief of Engineers, Army, and the Commander, NAVFAC, to identify training needs of staff in energy analyses training.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Navy
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The DOD IG has closed the file. Action was initiated, but full implementation was not verified. No further action is planned.
Recommendation: The Secretaries of the Army and the Navy should direct the Chief of Engineers, Army, and the Commander, NAVFAC, to identify training needs of staff in energy analyses training.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Army
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