Fort Benning Directorate of Public Works entered an energy savings performance contract with Honeywell to modernize energy conservation measures in buildings, providing cost savings, improving operational reliability, and reducing energy consumption.
“Phase one of the project started in 2019 and we are currently on phase two of the project,” said Garland Turner, resources efficiency manager, DPW. “The energy savings performance contract encompasses more than 11 million square feet across Fort Benning's total 26 million square feet of floorage, and we will complete phase two in 2023.”
The project includes four energy conservation measures: lighting retrofit and controls upgrades, modernizing utility monitor control systems (UMCS), building weatherization, and the installation of renewable energy systems.
Modernizing UMCS include an upgrade of building automatic temperature control systems, rechanges and integration into the installation’s communication, and cybersecurity systems.
“Upgrading our UMCS system to run more energy efficient on a cybersecure backbone builds the foundation for Benning to be an installation of the future,” said Whitney Ray, master planner, Planning Division, DPW. “It also includes building analytics technologies to provide facility managers with valuable data about the condition and performance of building infrastructure systems.”
Along with the lighting controls, the existing fluorescent lighting systems are being upgraded to LED technology.
“We will conduct lighting LED retrofits to approximately 400 buildings [in] Fort Benning. During the retrofit, existing fluorescent, incandescent, metal halide, and high-pressure sodium fixtures [will be] replaced with new LED technology,” said Jeff Bonnar, senior project manager at Honeywell. “This provides energy savings and improves light quality. Approximately 300,000 fluorescent lamps will be replaced, and old lamps will be recycled in accordance with EPA standards.”
Building weatherization includes mitigating outside air infiltration into the air-conditioned space of the building and sealing gaps and cracks in building walls, windows, doors, ceilings, foundations, and roofs to create a barrier between indoor and outdoor areas. It also involves applying solar film to window interiors to reduce solar heat gain and glare.
Bonnar added, “The calculated energy savings for the lighting retrofit is $635,000 per year, with the overall project saving the installation $1.57 million per year.”
Renewable energy systems include new solar inverter equipment to replace the failed solar array inverter at the Maneuver Center of Excellence, which will aid the existing roof-mounted solar array system in producing renewable energy.
"Partnering with industry is an example of Fort Benning's commitment to building an energy-efficient installation," said Col. Colin P. Mahle, garrison commander of Fort Benning. " I am proud to partner with industry leaders to improve efficiency and continue to help reduce the installation's overall energy consumption to help us reach our resiliency goals that support progress toward the long-term goals of the Army Climate Strategy."
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