72nd ABW/CE officials research energy-efficiency proposals Published March 2, 2012 By Brandice J. O'Brien Staff Writer TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Tinker is on top of its game and its energy team remains vigilant for the future. Rather than resting on its laurels, Tinker's Energy Team, led by the 72nd Air Base Wing Civil Engineer Directorate, is continuously considering proposals, participating in Air Force-funded audits and conducting feasibility studies to ensure the installation stays energy-efficient. "All of these efforts will help us achieve our energy reduction goals," said Rex Stanford, 72nd ABW/CE mechanical engineer. "Air Force-funded audits have been helpful because it's a way to look at a number of facilities at one time and that way you can combine similar efforts in different buildings under one project." Currently, a sustainable infrastructure assessment audit is under way and involves 30 Tinker buildings, totaling more than 2.6 million square feet. The audit began in September and is expected to finish in April. It is the second Air Force funded audit for the 72nd ABW since 2010. A 2010 audit studied solar-water heating and as a result, officials are installing heat exchangers, or solar collectors, on the roofs of five buildings - Bldgs. 215, 510, 820, 989 and 1030. Domestic hot water will run through solar collectors and will be pre-heated before going to a standard water heater, allowing the standard water heater to work less. The construction, which began in September and is scheduled to finish in June should save the base approximately $180,000 a year in utility costs. The civil engineer directorate is currently considering three separate proposals and studying their feasibilities. Two are chiller-optimization projects, which would improve the chiller plants in Bldgs. 3001 and 9001. Through one chiller-optimization project, officials could implement a "free cooling" concept which means, when the weather outside is cold enough, water could be pushed through a heat exchanger instead of using electricity to run a chiller. If officials elect the other chiller-optimization project, base personnel could install advanced control systems to run the chillers at efficiently as possible and in line with the load. The third proposal is to create biomass fuel by burning waste in an energy-production facility on base. Officials said it is not likely to be constructed at Tinker, because the base doesn't produce enough waste nor does it have enough space. Officials are researching alternatives, including using landfill gas to fuel electricity generators at Bldg. 9001. "Landfill gas is already piped to the central plant; we just don't have a good way to match it to our heating load right now. If we used landfill gas to fuel generators, we'd have a year-round use for it," Mr. Stanford said. "And, it would also help our energy security by having electricity generated on site." Britton Young, Tinker's Energy Team point-of-contact, agreed, and pointed out an advantage to the idea. "Part of what is attractive about that is the pipeline infrastructure from the landfill at Interstate 240 and South Bryant Avenue, to Bldg. 9001 is already there," Ms. Young said. "When the building was part of the General Motors plant, they were using landfill gas at that time. We just need the generator part of it." If the projects are accepted, 72nd ABW/CE personnel will send out the proposals for construction bids and get under way.