WASHINGTON, DC — In the wake of the Bush administration’s order to federal facilities in California to reduce peak demand by 10%, the American Cooling Center, Inc., is recommending natural gas air conditioning.

“By installing natural gas air conditioning equipment, federal facilities located in California and other parts of the nation can achieve 25% or better reductions in their peak electric demand,” said America Gas Cooling Center executive director Anthony J. Occhionero. “Hospitals, office buildings, and commercial facilities around the country are already successfully enjoying natural gas cooling for peak demand reduction and energy cost savings,” he said.

According to Occhionero, systems that integrate natural gas air conditioning with electric equipment can offer the biggest benefits to federal and other energy customers. Such integrated systems generally operate with natural gas equipment handling the peak electric demand hours — 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Publication date: 05/14/2001