Park Awarded Matching Funds for Texas White House Energy Improvement

 The "Texas White House," former home of President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson on the LBJ Ranch, will undergo a heating and air conditioning system replacement, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and a $25,000 matching grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), whose mission in part is to provide reliable, low-cost utility and public services in partnership with their customers and communities. Work will begin in August to replace nine aging, inefficient heat pumps and air exchangers with Energy Star equipment. The current ductwork will be left in place to minimize damage to the home's historic fabric during installation of the new system. Monthly cost savings are estimated at approximately 35%.

Friends of Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park Board Chairman Robert Keith accepted the check from R.B. Felps, Pedernales Electric Cooperative Board Chairman on Monday, June 15. Pedernales Electric Cooperative, based in Johnson City, the park's headquarters town, provided proposal assistance for the grant application. The cooperative, the largest electric cooperative in the U.S., purchases electric power from the LCRA and supplies electricity to the LBJ Ranch.

The 28-room, 8472 square-foot Johnson home is being converted into a house museum for public touring. At present, four rooms—the presidential office, living room, dining room, and kitchen—are open to the public by ranger-guided tours. The new heating and air conditioning system will provide the constant temperature and humidity controls needed to preserve the original furnishings. Other rooms will be opened to the public in the coming months and years as they are completed.