Human Resources Command buildings among nation's most energy efficient

By David Ruderman, U.S. Army Human Resources Command Public AffairsMay 7, 2015

HRC hits Energy Star target
1 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
HRC hits Energy Star target
2 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Hon. Katherine Hammack (from left), Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment; Gregory S. Kuhr, Director, G4, Facilities and Logistics, U.S. Army Installation Management Command; Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Geddings, ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
HRC hits Energy Star target
3 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Hon. Katherine Hammack (left), Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment and Brig. Gen. Barbara L. Owens, Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, unveil one of five Energy Star awards at the c... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
HRC hits Energy Star target
4 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Brig. Gen. Barbara L. Owens (left), Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, and the Hon. Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment talk after the unveiling of five Energy Star a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
HRC hits Energy Star target
5 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Brig. Gen. Barbara L. Owens (left), Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, and the Hon. Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment talk after the unveiling of five Energy Star a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
HRC hits Energy Star target
6 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Hon. Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment talks with HRC building energy manager, Rita Soto, after the unveiling of five Energy Star awards at the command's headquarters at Fort Knox, Kentuc... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT KNOX, Kentucky - U.S. Army Human Resources Command was awarded five bronze Energy Star plaques in a ceremony at its headquarters here May 5.

Fort Knox Garrison Commander, Col. Thomas J. Edwards, presented the Environmental Protection Agency certificates announcing the awards to Brig. Gen. Barbara L. Owens, HRC Deputy Commanding General. They were joined by the Hon. Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, and Gregory S. Kuhr, Director, G4, Facilities and Logistics, U.S. Army Installation Management Command, to unveil one of the five bronze plaques in the Maude Complex quadrangle.

"Since the time this facility came online in 2010, its energy consumption has been reduced by almost 50 percent," said Jerry Mraz, HRC's Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel and Logistics. "This is quite significant for any building, but for an almost 900,000 sq. ft. facility, this is amazing."

"There are very few facilities in the Army that can claim the level of energy reliability, security and redundancy the Maude Complex provides for HRC," said Owens. "This is a testament to the truly outstanding partnership between Fort Knox and HRC," Owens said.

The EPA's Climate Protection Partnership Division categorizes and tracks office building energy performance nationwide and awards the Energy Star to facilities that use 35 percent less energy and generate 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than others in that classification.

The Maude Complex office buildings have been recognized for meeting those performance standards in both 2013 and 2014, said Mraz.

"As you rack and stack our office buildings here in the Maude Complex, they score very, very well," said Bob Miles, energy engineer with Harshaw Trane, the HVAC and engineering services firm that manages garrison operations.

"I think they're ahead in recent technologies they've been able to implement. They have set the stage for commercial and industrial clients," he said.

The Maude Complex, which comprises more than 880,000 sq. ft. of space, 18 elevators, 1,330 windows and 1,290 doors, opened for business in June 2010, but the significant processes and practices which have reduced energy use have been implemented since then, said Mraz.

"What we've done is we have made some changes within our utilities plant to service these buildings, efficiently. We are able to make it smarter with our central controls. Because these buildings have a constant heat load throughout the year, we are able to distribute heat to where it's needed, rather than generate and produce heat. We can take advantage of energy by relocating it to other places," said Miles.

"This structure has water-to-water heat pumps. There is a giant water-loop system that runs all six of these buildings," said Robert "RJ" Dyrdek, energy program manager with the Fort Knox Directorate of Public Works. The water draws heat away from work areas within the complex.

"We have so many people in this building, with so much 'plug load,' that the computers don't need a whole lot of heat, even in the dead of winter when it's 20 degrees outside. So if we can circulate it around . . . we don't have to use the energy from the company to heat water, we can use the buildings," Dyrdek explained.

The heat exchange takes place in the manmade pond on the southwest side of the complex, which casual visitors may mistake for a simple landscaping nicety. In fact, heat drawn from the complex passes through pipes at the bottom of the pond, he said.

"There are basically big heat exchangers at the base of the pond," said Miles. The fountain-like spray helps circulate water in the pond and aids the heat exchange.

It is a holistic approach, said Miles, a question of rolling the energy to where it is needed, balancing out inequalities and constantly monitoring and adjusting performance.

"The total energy usage for HRC represents eight to 10 percent of the total post," said Miles.

"To put that in perspective, we average over $1 million a month just in an electric bill. So if you are 10 percent of that we're putting $100,000 a month in electricity just for these buildings. That's significant," Dyrdek said.

HRC's energy efficiency will take another major stride forward as the garrison begins generating power from its own natural gas sources May 6, said Miles.

"That is called combined heat and power, and that is our next step," Dyrdek said. "That will make us net zero. We won't need outside energy coming from the utility company up the river. We'll be able to have our own energy.

"When we make electricity from natural gas, it generates heat, which we used to just blow off in a stack -- you see all the excess getting released in the atmosphere. But since we're able to do it locally here, we are able to take exhaust heat, run it into a boiler and create free heating for this complex. We also take the heat that cools those generators and run it into an absorption chiller and that creates air conditioning. You will basically be getting heating and cooling for free. That's taking it to a whole other level," Dyrdek said.

The project, which comprises six separate generating plants, has been two and a half years in the making, he said. Delivery of electricity to the Maude Complex, and to the Data Center in particular, will have a significant positive effect on energy efficiency in the years ahead.

Building 4, HRC's Data Center, is the one building in the Maude Complex that has yet to earn an Energy Star due to different requirements and criteria, although some 60-70 percent of HRC's electricity use goes to run it, said Mraz.

"There is a different way of scoring data centers, and EPA doesn't put that into their scoring matrix. Building 4 isn't doing poorly, it's just a different animal," said Dyrdek. "The Data Center is significantly better than the national average, but we have a target that we want to get to. Our combined heat and power is going to help improve that considerably, but we still want to get lower."

"There are constantly newer technologies being looked at because of the fact that it is a 24/7 constant heat load . . . there is definitely new technology coming out every day," Miles said.

"So the whole team here is extremely aggressive and we all know it from each other's behavior that it makes a difference to that million dollar bill," said Dyrdek.

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