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Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center
430,447 gross square feet (GSF)
Personnel: 825
Energy Intensity:
FY 2014: 274,445 Btu per GSF
28.1% reduction from FY 2003 baseline
Water Intensity:
FY 2014: 32.34 gallons per GSF
47.6% reduction from FY 2007 baseline
Cincinnati, Ohio
This 22-acre complex is EPA’s second largest research and development facility and is internationally recognized for water research, bioremediation and pollution prevention. In addition to AWBERC, EPA's Cincinnati facilities includes the following:
- Testing and Evaluation Center
- Center Hill Facility
- Research Support Annex 2
- National Service Center for Environmental Publications Warehouse
- Several other facilities, including a boat warehouse and a Research Containment Facility
Sustainable Features
- A multi-year infrastructure replacement project (IRP) replaced mechanical systems, controls, and equipment that was more than 30 years old with modern, more efficient models, including:
- More efficient fans, pump, and motors.
- New 600-ton chiller and sequence of operations for the chiller plant controls.
- Variable air volume technology, which is more efficient than constant volume.
- Separating laboratories from offices and replacing one-pass air in offices with recirculated air.
- A heat recovery system that recaptures heating and cooling energy from the exhaust system and uses it to pre-heat or pre-cool the incoming air.
- High-performance fume hoods that can be operated at lower air flows and hibernated when not in use.
- Automatic sash closures on all high-performance fume hoods that reduce air flow—and energy use—when the hood is unoccupied.
- Commissioning of the laboratory ventilation system and rebalancing the air distribution systems.
- Transition from cooling towers to a free cooling system for process cooling.
- An upgrade of parking lot lighting equipment with more energy-efficient technology.
- Occupancy sensors that control lights and space temperatures.
- AWBERC replaced a single-pass water-cooled ice machine with one that saves 300,000 gallons of water per year.
- Restroom fixtures were replaced with models that save about 210,000 gallons of water per year.
- A stormwater management master plan is the framework for EPA stormwater improvements.
For more information, visit Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center (AWBERC), or the EPA Facility Contact List.