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Introduction This fact sheet provides background on energy conservation implementation and incentives to Federal agencies and discussions of lighting options, energy-efficient military family housing (MFH), alternative fuels for light-duty vehicles, and acquisition of alternatively fueled vehicles. For a complete review of the DoD Energy Management Program review the DoD Energy Manager's Handbook contained on the Construction Criteria Base (CCB) CD-ROM disks. Every Base Civil Engineer at a major Air Force installation receives a copy of these disks quarterly. Energy conservation, which compliments Air Force pollution prevention policy, is the subject of several laws starting in 1975. The two most important documents that all DoD components must comply with are the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 1992, Public Law 102-486 and Executive Order 12902 of March 1994 — By the President of the United States of America: Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation at Federal Facilities. To implement these directives the DoD and Air Force have created their own written guidance. These documents are:
Existing Facilities:
Industrial Processes:
Technology:
New Construction:
Showcase Facilities:
Innovative Financing and Contractual Mechanisms:
Incentives and Awareness:
Energy Efficient Products:
Implementation and Incentives The Department of Energy (DoE) is the lead agency responsible for implementing the required energy conservation measures. This is accomplished through the DoE Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). Furthermore, DoE is also responsible for providing guidance, information and technical assistance to Federal agencies seeking to implement energy conservation measures. DoE is coordinating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to develop technical assistance services including help lines, computer bulletin boards, information and education materials and project tracking methods. DoD Instruction 4170.10, "Energy Management Policy" implements DoD policy, and Air Force Policy Directive 23-3, "Energy Management" directs Air Force policy. Under Executive Order 12902, DoE will provide, for a fee per student, energy conservation technology training courses to any Air Force base energy management personnel responsible for implementing energy conservation measures. FEMP training courses include topics such as: renewable energy resources projects, Federal energy management, water resource management, and energy efficient buildings. Base Energy Management points of contact (POCs) may contact the FEMP Workshop hotline for course information and registration at (202) 737-1911. For SN users, call the Washington switch at DSN 227-1201 and ask for an off net connection. A number of incentives have been put in place to encourage energy conservation within Federal agencies. For example, Congress provided a financial incentive to DoD for conserving facility energy by allowing DoD to retain two-thirds of their energy savings each year. However, the USAF has not been successful in implementing this program. Base energy managers should contact their MAJCOMs for specific information on energy costs savings retention. The Executive Order encourages Federal agencies to establish internal incentive programs to appropriately reward personnel for exceptional performance in energy conservation programs. Rewards may include leave time and honorary awards. Performance evaluations and position descriptions should include employees' participation in energy conservation programs.
Air Force Energy Conservation Consumption Reduction Goals The Air Force's energy consumption goals are based on EO 12902 and EPACT: Reduce the energy used in administrative and similar buildings by at least 20% by 2000 (compared to 1985) and at least 30% by 2005 (compared to 1985) measured in BTUs per gross square foot. Improve industrial, energyconsuming facilities' gross energy efficiency by 20% between 1990 and 2005.
Strategies for Achieving Air Force Energy Reduction Goals
Plan and Report Progress Toward Accomplishing Goals
Improve Operation and Maintenance
Increase Life-Cycle Cost Effective Capital Investment
MAJCOMs will identify and program for funding energy conservation projects of military construction scope with simple paybacks of ten years or less, as well as those projects which are appropriate for O&M type funding with rapid payback, in order to meet the program goals. MAJCOMs shall identify projects for the Energy Conservation Improvement Program (ECIP) and FEMP programs. MAJCOMs will furnish line-item detail and implementing budget guidance as required for ECIP projects.
Public Utility Programs Participation
Procure Life Cycle Cost Effective, Energy Efficient Goods and Products
Ensure Energy Efficiency of Current Federal Buildings and Newly Constructed Federal Buildings
Use Alternative, Renewable, and Clean Energy
Balance Energy and Water Conservation with Environmental Goals
Implement Energy Awareness, Training and Awards
At the time municipalities first grew concerned about landfills, oil prices had skyrocketed, resulting in increased costs for basic municipal services. Fortunately, many cities discovered they could reduce costs by building waste-to-energy plants which incinerated garbage (reducing its volume by 90 percent) while cost-effectively producing energy in the form of steam or electricity. An average waste-to-energy system produces 2-4 pounds of steam per pound of waste burned. In addition, each 100 pounds of steam produced by burning garbage saves one gallon of fuel oil. There are currently eight DoD waste-to-energy plants and about 200 plants outside DoD. Most waste-to-energy plants in the United States use the mass burn system. With the mass burn system, waste does not have to be sorted or prepared prior to incineration (except for the removal of obviously non-combustible, oversized articles). Typical mass-burning systems consist of a modular furnace, which is comprised of a two or three-stage combustion chamber, a boiler and other components built off-site, then shipped and assembled at the plant. Modular systems are gaining in popularity because they offer small-capacity, cost-effective units at a reasonable price. Furthermore, a mass burn system with a capacity of 1000 tons per day will burn 310,250 tons of trash per year, recovering 2 Million British Thermal Units (MBTUs) of energy, which is enough to light, heat and cool 60,000 homes yearly.
Currently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Langley Research Center (located in Hampton, Virginia), the City of Hampton and the Air Force are partners in the operation of the Hampton/NASA/USAF Refuse-Fired Steam Generating Facility. Since operations began in 1980, the use of over 50 million gallons of fuel oil has been avoided, reducing dependency on foreign oil and eliminating over 7500 tons of air pollutants. The plant processes 240 tons of garbage a day and produces 0.5 MBTUs, which is enough energy to light, heat and cool 17,000 homes. In addition, $12 million dollars is saved in decreased refuse disposal.
Incandescent lighting (ie. the light bulbs used in ordinary lamps) is between 10-30% efficient (lumens/watt). Efficiency is measured in the amount of light (lumens) which can be produced from the power used (watts). In other words, it takes a great deal of power to produce a little light with incandescent lights. New energy-efficient lighting can save 55-90% of the electricity used by incandescent lighting. In addition, every kilowatt-hour of electricity not used results in the reduction of emissions of 1.5 pounds of carbon dioxide (a major contributor to the possible Greenhouse Effect), 5.8 grams of sulfur dioxide (a principle component of acid rain) and 2.5 grams of nitrogen oxides (a precursor to both acid rain and smog). Therefore, a strategy to implement improvements in lighting technology and minimize use of lights offers a substantial opportunity to prevent pollution, reduce electric bills and increase lighting quality.
There are two components of energy use:
Scheduling- Turn lights on or off according to need. Manual scheduling involves switching by building occupants. Automatic scheduling includes time switches, occupant sensors, photo-cell switches and other means of switching lights by automatic control devices.
Tuning- Reduce power to electric lights in accordance with the exact lighting needs of the user and work task. For instance, tuning may be accomplished with dimming devices. Energy savings are dependent on the amount of available natural light that is allowed into the office.
Daylighting- Turn lights off or reduce power to electric lights in the presence of natural daylight from windows and skylights. Daylighting controls employ a photosensor-controller device, linked to a switching or dimming unit that varies electric light power in response to natural light. Daylighting controls can save 30-40% lighting energy in a typical office with vertical windows. During the summer months, the energy savings can be much larger (over 50%), especially if the dimming system can dim efficiently over a wide range of light levels.
New energy efficient lighting technologies such as fluorescent ballasts and solar powered lights offer great potential for energy savings and are cost effective. The following table is an example of how several bases saved energy and money through the installation of energy efficient lighting in 1994:
Information on energy efficient lighting products can be found in Defense General Supply Center Catalog, "Energy Efficient Lighting."
Energy-Efficient Military Family Housing Military installations are committed to improving both the quality and the energy efficiency of military family housing. Although some energy improvements have already been made, much work remains to be done. The Army and Air Force recently contracted with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a DoE energy research laboratory, to evaluate the effectiveness of current programs and to help develop methods to improve energy efficiency in military family housing. Energy deficiencies typically found in military family housing are no different from those found in private housing. The most commonly seen problems are:
Ground Source Heat Pumps Air temperatures at Air Force bases can range from minus 50 to 120 degrees F. Compared with dramatic fluctuations in air temperatures, the temperature of the earth and its waters is very stable. Where the difference between air temperature and ground temperature is significant (+/-20ºF) for long periods of time (in excess of 60 days), the potential exists to tap this thermal reserve. One effective way to tap this stable energy source is through the use of heat pumps which have their external coils buried in the earth or submerged in a body of water. The term for this type of heat pump is ground source heat pump (GSHP). Earth-coil systems use polyethylene piping buried/submerged either horizontally or vertically. The pipes carry a water based alcohol/antifreeze solution which is heated or cooled by its passage through the earth. These systems require three additional components which are not part of a standard heat pump; an earth coil, a pump, and a heat exchanger. The pump circulates the water solution through the earth coil while the heat exchanger transfers heat either to or from the heat pump refrigerant to the water solution. Some systems, called direct expansion (DX) GSHP, have the actual HP refrigerant run through the earth coil which acts like a large condenser, eliminating the need for the water solution, the extra pump and heat exchanger. These DX systems use ground coils made of copper tubing and tend to be more efficient since there is no heat exchanger. With a vertical earth-coil system it is possible to use a number of vertical coils in parallel. This configuration uses smaller diameter pipe and is not placed as deeply as a single vertical system, or take up as much land area as a horizontal system. At depths of 20-30 feet, depending on location and surface characteristics, the temperature of the ground is generally within 5ºF of the average annual air temperature. This temperature fluctuates very little throughout the year. In most climates, the ground temperature is more than 20ºF warmer than air temperatures during the winter and cooler than the air during the summer. A modification of the buried earth-coil heat pump is a system having its external coil located within either groundwater or surface water. Water has even more potential for heat storage than the earth. In order to properly size and determine the savings to evaluate a GSHP, many involved calculations are necessary. To simplify and streamline the process, several software packages have been developed. These programs require a certain amount of user defined information to size and cost the GSHP. The user must provide pertinent data including cooling/heating load, geographic information (earth or groundwater temperatures), soil type, water content of the soil, and regional weather data. The Air Force has a large number of bases in the northern half of the country, which are subject to long periods of low temperatures. These bases are candidate locations for technical and economic analysis to determine the applicability and life-cycle cost for such systems. AFM 88-29 is the guide in determining if any base worldwide is a prime candidate for GSHP evaluation. Bases which have more than 5,000 heating degree days should be considered prime candidates, with those above 4,000 degree days potential candidates depending on fuel costs and geographical considerations. Cooling should not be overlooked for southern bases which have long periods of high temperatures and humidity. Cooling should be considered where there are more than 3,000 air conditioning hours over 67ºF (wet bulb) annually as indicated by AFM 88-29. The Air Force application of GSHP looks promising. For example, in the immediate area of military family housing, there are thousands of possible candidates for GSHP systems. Life cycle cost analysis show not only that GSHPs reduce energy usage, helping the Air Force reach its usage reduction goal of 30%, but also saves money and has a discounted payback of under eight years. For more information about Ground Source Heat Pumps, contact Mr. Fred Beason, Headquarters Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency, DSN 523-6361.
Alternative Fuels For Light-Duty Vehicles Executive Order (EO) 13031, "Federal Alternative Fueled Vehicle Leadership," 13 December 1996, ensures the Federal Government will exercise leadership in the use of alternative fueled vehicles (AFVs). To this end, each Federal agency shall develop and implement aggressive plans to fulfill the alternative fueled vehicle acquisition requirements. To the extent practicable, Federal agencies shall use alternative fuels in all vehicles capable of using them. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Energy Commission are promoting the substitution of alternative fuels for gasoline in light-duty vehicles as a way to combat air pollution and slow the growth of U.S. oil imports. Ozone pollution control has become the primary driving force behind alternative fuels. Ozone production occurs when volatile organic compounds (VOC) (ie. gasoline) and nitrogen oxides are exposed to sunlight. Ozone production and smog production should not be confused with ozone depletion, which occurs in the upper atmosphere. The introduction of cleaner-burning alternative fuels will reduce formation of ground level ozone. The most commonly suggested alternative fuels include ethanol and methanol, either "neat" (pure) or blended with gasoline; compressed or liquefied natural gas (CNG or LNG); liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is largely propane; hydrogen; and electricity. While the costs associated with alternative fuels are uncertain, the effectiveness of the following fuels are reasonably well known. These fuels have been tested for safety in vehicle use and found not to be a significant explosive hazard when properly used and transferred. Methanol- is a convenient liquid fuel that can be produced from natural gas using proven technology. As a blend of 85% methanol/15% gasoline (M85), methanol is a fuel for which vehicle manufacturers can easily design either a dedicated or Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV) that will outperform an equivalent gasoline vehicle. Disadvantages of methanol include low energy density and unfavorable cold start characteristics. Note: This fuel is corrosive and should only be used in vehicles designed or modified to use it. Ethanol- like methanol, is a liquid fuel that can be quite readily used, with few problems, in vehicles. Ethanol-fueled vehicles also perform competitively with gasoline-fueled vehicles. Disadvantages of ethanol are the same as methanol, and should only be used in vehicles designed or modified for ethanol use. A gallon of ethanol contains only about two-thirds the energy of one gallon of gasoline. Natural Gas- The physical makeup of natural gas tends to make it a low emission fuel. Natural gas contains virtually no nitrogen or sulfur and does not mix with oil. It will not foul engine combustion chambers, engine oils, or spark plugs as readily as gasoline. Natural gas may help reduce the deterioration of emissions control device performance common to gasoline-powered automobiles. Furthermore, the use of natural gas will prove strongly beneficial in combating ozone pollution. Electricity- Electric vehicles are an exciting concept because they directly emit virtually no air pollutants. However, the goal of pollution reduction is accomplished only if the power charging the batteries is not from a coal-fired power plant. Unlike combustion engines, electric motors do not continue running when the vehicle is stopped, thereby conserving energy in stop and go traffic. Disadvantages include high cost and short traveling range. Hydrogen- fueled vehicles emit virtually no hydrocarbons, particulates, carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide. The only significant air pollutant emitted by a hydrogen-fueled vehicle is nitrogen oxides. Because hydrogen vehicles emit no carbon dioxide, they are viewed as an especially attractive component of a strategy to reduce global warming trends. These vehicles are still in the research stage and are not generally available. A disadvantage of hydrogen-fueled vehicles is flammability.
Acquisition of Alternatively Fueled Light-Duty Vehicles E.O. 13031 requires compliance with Title III of the Energy Policy Act, which establishes requirements for Federal government acquisition of vehicles that use alternative fuels. Vehicles are to be fueled, to the maximum extent possible, at commercial facilities offering alternative fuels to the public. During fiscal year 1995, the Federal government (as an entity) was to acquire 10,000 vehicles powered by alternative fuels. In addition, agencies which own and operate fleets of 20 or more light-duty motor vehicles in large metropolitan areas (>250,000 people) must acquire certain percentages of alternatively fueled vehicles on the following time table:
To date, the Air Force owns over 1,600 Alternatively Fueled Vehicles (AFVs), with an additional 500 being leased, the majority of which are vehicles which have been converted (1,561) to alternative fuels. The Air Force owns and leases vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), electricity and methanol, and also leases vehicles powered by propane and ethanol. More detailed information on alternate fueled vehicles will be available from PRO-ACT in our Fact Sheet, "Alternative Fueled Vehicles," due in September 1997.
Summary As a result of the Energy Policy Act and Executive Order 12902, energy conservation techniques and energy-efficient technologies are being used and new ones are being developed. The DoE is the lead agency tasked with implementing the energy conservation legislation through guidance, information and technical assistance to Federal agencies. Energy conservation has been accomplished through waste-to-energy plants, energy-efficient lighting, energy-efficient family housing, use of ground source heat pumps and alternatively fueled vehicles. The Air Force will continue to make improvements in energy conservation through awareness of the program, retrofit and replacement with new technologies, and new construction of energy-efficient buildings.
For More Information To find out more about Energy Conservation and Energy Efficient Technologies, call PRO-ACT at DSN 240-4214. Other points of contact are listed below:
HQ AFCESA/CESE
Defense General Supply Center (DGSC)
FEMP Workshop Hotline
Hampton/NASA/USAF Refuse-Fired Steam Generating Facility
National Alternative Fuels Hotline
U.S. Department of Energy
Alternatively Fueled Vehicles Systems Program Office
References
"Air Force Pollution Prevention Strategy" AFI 32-1023, "Design and Construction Standard and Execution of Facility Construction Project," 19 July 1994. AFI 63-701, "Managing Industrial Facilities," 24 June 1994. Defense Energy Program Policy Memorandum, DEPPM 91-2, 19 March 1991, Implementing Defense Energy Management Goals Air Force Policy Directive, AFPD 23-3, 7 Sep 93, Energy Management Air Force Instruction, AFI 36-2818, The USAF Logistics Award Program Air Force Energy Program Procedural Memorandum, AFEPPM 96-1, 1 Jun 96, Air Force Energy Management Plan Air Force Energy Program Procedural Memorandum, AFEPPM 96-2, 1 Jun 96, Air Force Water Management Program Air Force Energy Program Procedural Memorandum, AFEPPM 96-3, 1 Jun 96, Defense Utility Energy Reporting System Air Force Energy Program Procedural Memorandum, AFEPPM 96-4, 1 Jun 96, Investment Opportunities for Energy and Water Conservation Projects U.S. Department of Energy, Document No. DOE/EE0008 Advanced Lighting Guidelines: 1993, Final Report, 1993. DoD Instruction 4170.10, "Energy Management Policy" Executive Order 12902, "Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation at Federal Facilities," 8 March 1994. Executive Order 12844, "Federal Use of Alternative Fueled Vehicles," 21 April 1993. "Global Environmental Outreach," September 1995 "AFM 88-29" |