The Olympia Forestry Sciences Laboratory is the first facility of the Pacific Northwest Research Station to receive funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. It received $250,000 through the first round of monies from the U.S. Forest Service as it administers funding provided by the ARRA. The funding will provide local jobs for the installation of energy-efficient windows, which will ultimately reduce the lab's heating and cooling costs.
"This project will significantly reduce the lab's energy use and, at the same time, it creates needed jobs in our local community," said Doug Ryan, line officer at the 16,000-square-foot research facility.
The lab was built in the 1960s and currently has 150 single-pane, low thermal-rated windows. The project will remove the outdated windows and replace them with modern energy-efficient windows that provide better insulation and reflect infrared light, which will help to retain heat in the winter and repel it in the summer.
