This will not be wasted. It is needed now, due to damage to the coils being caused by corrosion, resulting from the use of antifreeze solutions, which we must continue to use unless we effect these proposed improvements. It is my recommendation that this work be done now.

DEVELOPMENTS IN USE OF HEAT PUMP

Mr. HORAN. Might I ask for a studied report on the latest developments in the heat-pump field? I understand that, for 10 years or more, there has been interest in the heat pump.

I do know that commercially they are sold out in my area. I notice an increased cost of fuel and increased cost of electricity, and items such as this on air conditioning. Just for my own information and the information of the subcommittee, I wonder if at this time we could have a statement put in the record regarding the principle of the heat pump.

Mr. STEWART. Mr. Rubel is here, and I will see that the study is made and presented to the committee or to you personally.

Mr. HORAN. To show you I am not being dilatory and whimsical in bringing this up, it does work in certain areas. I understand it provides heat in the wintertime and coolness in the summer by the mere fact of using the mean temperature of the soil. You have a big hole in the ground out there now. It would seem, if there was any possibility of the heat pump or even an attempt at it, that it ought to be at least reviewed and rejected at this time. If there were possibilities of a heat pump actually working, it ought to be considered, I should think. Whether it is practical or completely laughable, I do not know. But there is interest in it on the part of the Congress.

Mr. STEWART. I will have Mr. Rubel get in touch with you. Mr. HORAN. It seems a statement at this time would be of interest. (The information requested is as follows:)

THE HEAT PUMP AND ITS APPLICATIONS

The so-called heat pump is nothing more than a conventional refrigeration machine operating on a reversed cycle. The thermodynamic principle on which a refrigeration machine or heat pump operates, namely, the transfer of heat from one medium to another, has been known for ages and has been applied in cold-storage plants and other refrigeration systems for many years. More recently, it has been applied extensively for cooling only in air-conditioning sysThe first application for both heating and cooling was installed commercially in 1932. Since 1932, the acceptance of the idea of using a refrigeration machine for both heating and cooling has been rather insignificant, but in the last 2 or 3 years it has begun to assume a more commanding position in the home heating and cooling field.

The operation of a heat pump for both heating and cooling can be readily understood by considering for the moment the operation of a conventional window-type air-conditioning unit. When installed in a window in the customary manner it can be said, in nonscientific language, that the air conditioner blows cold air into the room and warm air into the outdoor atmosphere. Under these conditions, the room is cooled and the outdoor atmosphere is heated. What actually happens is that the indoor heat is pumped or transferred to the outdoors. If the same window unit is installed in the reversed position, or end for end, obviously it will blow warm air into the room and cold air into the outdoor atmosphere, thus heating the room and cooling the atmosphere. In other words, the reversed air conditioner pumps or transfers heat from the outdoor atmosphere to the room air.

Commercial heat pumps or single, all-year-weather machines as the manufacturers prefer to call them-using only air and electricity are now available in

sizes commensurate with the cooling and heating needs of small- and mediumsized residences. Larger units have been developed recently for industrial plant cooling and heating applications, but such installations have not been in commercial operation for more than 2 or 3 years. They all possess the advantage of fully automatic operation without the use of water or fuel. Other types of heat pumps using well water or ground water as the heat source are in use in some localities but their application is limited to favorable geographical locations, and to small capacities. The use of the heat-pump principle for cooling and heating the legislative buildings on Capitol Hill, although theoretically possible, may introduce some insurmountable practical difficulties, and the abandonment of capital invested in existing equipment would be a formidable deterrent. Because of the limited development and use of the heat-pump system for cooling and heating, no serious consideration has been given to an installation of such magnitude and complexity. Consequently, a comprehensive and protracted engineering study would be necessary to establish the economics of the project. Even though the economic study did prove to be favorable to the heat-pump system, the fact that no installation worthy of comparison has been designed, tested, or proven satisfactory would make the venture extremely hazardous.

Mr. ROONEY. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Bow, the gentleman from Washington, Mr. Horan, and I as members of the Commerce Subcommittee on Appropriations have been asked to be over at the Senate steps at 11:30. It is now 11:30. The next item is the New House Office Building. We should like to be present during the course of the discussion of that item. We wonder if you would be so kind as to excuse us, proceed with the other items and leave that one in abeyance. We shall get back as soon as we can.

Mr. NORRELL. Very well.

Mr. NORRELL. The next item, then, that the committee will consider is the Capitol Power Plant. This is for the operation and maintenance of the Capitol Power Plant for which the budget request is $1,706,600 compared with $1,304,300 for 1957, an increase of $402,300. This I believe includes $157,000 recently submitted in an amendment to the original budget.

Without objection we will insert at this point pages 103 through 106 from the justifications.

(The information referred to is as follows:)

Capitol Power Plant

1957 appropriation in annual act---

Additions:
Personal services: Increased from $386,300 to $428,500:
Wage rate increases authorized by Public Law 763,
83d Cong-

Under the provisions of Public Law 763, 83d
Cong., 66 laborers and mechanics on the Capitol
Power Plant roll are compensated on a wage-
board, prevailing rate basis. Public Law 763
provides that the compensation of such em-
ployees shall be fixed and adjusted from time
to time as nearly as is consistent with the pub-
lic interest in accordance with prevailing rates.
An increase of $20,000 is requested for 1958 to
meet on a full-year basis the cost of increased
wage rates established for these positions as
a result of a general survey of Government
and industrial employees' wages in the Wash-
ington metropolitan area, conducted during the
past year. This increase is necessary in order
that the Capitol Power Plant wage-board em-
ployees may be compensated in accordance with
present prevailing rates.

Under the provisions of Public Law 763, a
grade system is maintained for all wage-
board positions compensated under that act.
Three salary steps are fixed for each grade.
An employee serves 6 months at the minimum
step of his grade, is then promoted to the sec-
ond step, and after 18 months in the second
step is promoted to the third or top step of his
grade. An increase of $10,500 is requested
for 1958 to meet the cost of within-grade pro-
motions falling due in that year, authorized by
Public Law 763 under the wage-board system.
Within-grade promotions authorized by the Classi-
fication Act of 1949, as amended.

1 additional day's regular pay above 52-week base,
occurring in 1958, which did not occur in 1957__
Temporary labor allotment increased from $10,000
to $20,000 in order to supply sufficient manpower
for the proper operation of the plant. As a re-
sult of the changes and improvements accom-
plished at the plant under authority of Public
Law 413, 81st Cong., the regular powerplant
maintenance force has been decreased since 1951
from 109 employees to 71 employees. The total
positions were fixed at 71 last year and the tem-
porary labor allotment at $10,000-but experience
during the past year indicates the necessity of an
additional $10,000 for 1958 for temporary labor
to supplement the regular force in their year-
around work____

Purchase of electrical energy: Increased from $575,000
to $660,000: The 1957 appropriation was based on the
purchase of 51,000,000 kilowatts of electrical energy at
an average cost of slightly over 1.1 cents per kilowatt-
hour-or $575,000. The 1958 estimate is based on the
purchase of 58,000,000 kilowatt hours of electrical
energy at an average cost of slightly over 1.1 cents
per kilowatt-hour-or $660,000. The additional
amount of $85,000 is to cover the purchase of ap-
proximately 7 million kilowatt-hours for the addi-

$30, 500

300

1, 400

10,000

$1,304, 300

Additions-Continued

Capitol Power Plant-Continued

tional Senate Office Building, the cafeteria in the
courtyard of the New House Office Building, the garage
in the courtyard of the Old House Office Building,
the increased equipment installed at the Capitol
Power Plant central refrigeration plant, the improved
illumination being installed in the Senate Office Build-
ing, and miscellaneous additions in other existing
buildings under the architect-all of which improve-
ments are expected to be added to the electrical energy
load during the fiscal year 1958___
Payment to employees' life insurance fund, required by
Public Law 598, 83d Cong. No allotment for this
purpose has heretofore been provided______.
Coal: Increased from $289,130 to $382,000: The 1957
appropriation was based on the purchase of 34,000
tons of coal at $8.50 per ton, or $289,130. The 1958
estimate is based on the purchase of 39,000 tons of
coal at $9.78 per ton, or $382,000. The additional
amount of $92,870 is to cover the purchase of 5,000
additional tons of coal for the additional Senate Office
Building and other improvements being added to the
plant's heating load; also to cover the rise in price
from $8.50 to $9.78 per ton. The price per ton of coal
has run higher than originally estimated for 1957-
having averaged $9.20 per ton during the first 8
months of the fiscal year 1957-and the present indi-
cations are that a supplemental appropriation of
$21,000 will be required for 1957. Coal for the plant
is purchased through the Federal Bureau of Supply,
General Services Administration, under authority of
Public Law 152, 81st Cong., as amended___
Contribution to retirement fund, required by Public Law
854, 84th Cong., commencing July 1, 1957-
Repairs and replacement, steam tunnel, budget amend-
ment, $107,000: $55,000 is requested to replace and
relocate a 40-foot section of the old steam tunnel, con-
structed in 1923, which extends from the Senate Office
Building to the Washington City Post Office and Gov-
ernment Printing Office. This tunnel contains steam
mains which convey steam, generated at the Capitol
Power Plant, to the Washington City Post Office and
the Government Printing Office. A 40-foot section of
this steam tunnel, located under the west side of First
Street NE., adjacent to the Senate Office Building,
interferes with the constructon of a pedestrian tun-
nel authorized to be constructed under First Street
to connect the north wing of the present Senate Office
Building with the north wing of the new Senate Office
Building. The location of the pedestrian tunnel is
necessarily controlled by the location of the railroad
tunnel constructed under First Street nearly 50 years
This section of steam tunnel must be removed
and reconstructed to make way for the pedestrian
tunnel. $52,000 is requested to rehabilitate a struc-
turally unsound portion of the Government Printing
Office steam tunnel under the intersection of Massa-
chusetts Avenue and North Capitol Street; to re-
place defective expansion joints; to replace defective
wiring and lighting fixtures; to seal cracks in tunnel
against excessive leakage of ground water; and to
make repairs to pipes, valves, pipe supports, and pipe
covering, where necessary.

$85,000

1, 230

92, 870

24,000

107, 000