Houston, Texas - Archive

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

Environmental Services Branch Laboratory

This page houses older energy and environmental information about EPA's Environmental Services Branch Laboratory in Houston, Texas. View the Environmental Services Branch Laboratory's current facility page.

EPA conducted air system modifications and upgraded an existing direct digital control system in FY 1997.

In June 2003, EPA entered into a three-year contract, procured by 3 Phases Energy Services, to purchase approximately 3.35 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of green power annually in the form of renewable energy certificates (RECs) for the Houston laboratory. The contract covered 100 percent of the facility's annual electricity use and supported the generation of green power from a wind farm near Clovis, New Mexico, about 10 miles from the Texas state border.

In 1996, EPA installed a cooling tower condensate return system to reduce water consumption at the facility. Condensation from the normal operation of the laboratory air handling unit is collected and then used in the cooling tower as input water. The collected condensate water is pure (which reduces the need to treat the water) and cool (which lowers the amount of energy necessary to cool it). This system reduces water use by approximately 15 percent in a typical year, lowering the laboratory's water consumption by about 831,600 gallons per year. The laboratory now typically uses 3 million gallons of water per year.