Pacific Northwest Research Station

Olympia Lab Windows Replacement

Workers hired through Twin City Glass of Longview, Washington, install energy-efficient windows at the USFS Olympia Forestry Sciences Laboratory (Olympia, Washington). The contractor estimate a two-thirds decrease in the amount of heat transferred by the approximately 150 windows at the lab.

The Olympia Forestry Sciences Laboratory is the first facility in the Pacific Northwest Research Station to receive funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The station received $260,000 in the first round of economic recovery funding under the ARRA to replace outdated, low-thermal-rated windows at the Olympia Lab. The funding was used to create 10 local jobs for the installation of energy-efficient windows, including glazers, painters, carpenters, managers, and clerical staff.

“ 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 originally had single-pane windows. The project removed 136 outdated windows and replaced them with modern energy-efficient windows that provide better insulation and reflect infrared light, which will help to retain heat in the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. The calculated decrease in U-value (the standard measure of the amount of heat being transferred by windows) was from 1.02 (single pane) to 0.29 (double-pane), one-third the original heat loss.

The project was performed by Longview, Washington-based Twin City Glass. Pacific Tech, also based in Longview, was the project’s general contractor.

Installation of the new windows began in March 2009, and was completed in May 2009.