ASCA Energy and Water Survey

What Is the ASCA Energy and Water Survey?

The ASCA Energy and Water Survey is the first of its kind: a comprehensive survey of U.S. correctional facilities designed to gather information on facility characteristics and energy and water use. The findings from the survey will help identify opportunities to reduce energy and water expenses and demonstrate the state correctional industry’s good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Who is sponsoring the survey?

The Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA) is working with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) to conduct the survey.

What is the purpose of the survey?

The survey has many important purposes, including:

• Identifying opportunities to reduce energy and water expenses in correctional facilities.
• Informing possible technical assistance efforts on energy and water efficiency for correctional facilities.
• Developing the first-of-its-kind research report on the physical and energy profiles of state correctional facilities.
• Demonstrating the state correctional industry’s good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Why should I complete the survey?

To ensure that the resulting data accurately reflects the true picture of energy and water use in our field and the resulting opportunities, we need as many survey responses as possible. Your data is useful to provide an accurate picture of efficiency and challenges, no matter what the current level of efficiency is for your facility.

Where can I access the DOE-ASCA Energy and Water Survey?

The survey is accessible at this link.

What data does the survey gather?

The survey consists of six sections broken up into two parts. Section 1 of the survey is a facility overview and asks for such data as the facility’s floor area and year built, the gender of inmates, and the security level of the facility. Section 2 gathers occupancy data for staff and inmate populations. Section 3 breaks down the square footage of the facility by such space uses as residential, common areas, kitchens, laundry, manufacturing, and/or parking, etc. Section 4 asks about the types of energy and water systems and equipment onsite. Section 5 asks about facility and equipment improvements, and planning. Section 6 asks for submission of actual energy and water data for calendar year 2017.

How do I share my facility’s energy and water data?

At the end of the survey, you will be asked to share your facility’s data on energy and water use for calendar year 2017 in one of two ways. If you have an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account with up-to-date data for the calendar year 2017, please plan to share your energy and water data using a Portfolio Manager Data Request at this link, which is also embedded in the survey.

If you do not have a Portfolio Manager account, please download this spreadsheet to your computer, populate it with your 2017 energy and water data as directed, label the file as indicated in the survey and email it as an attachment to ascaenergysurvey@lbl.gov.

How can I get answers to my questions, and help in filling out the survey?

Downloadable survey instructions are available here.

Have additional questions or need help completing your survey? Please contact our support staff at ascaenergysurvey@lbl.gov with any and all questions.