Base making progress in decentralization project Published Oct. 11, 2013 By Brandice J. O'Brien Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Tinker's steam decentralization project, said to be the Air Force's largest domestic energy retrofit project, replaces outdated central steam plants with new heat-generating, energy-efficient equipment supplied by individualized gas lines that will run to each building. Tinker has four central plants, three of which will be permanently shut down. The fourth, in Bldg. 3001, will have energy saving options added and make it more efficient. Work on the project began in October 2012 and a completion date is scheduled for July 2015. "The project saves enough energy to power 12,424 average size homes per year and trims Tinker's natural gas use by more than 25 percent," said C.B. Bennett, Honeywell project manager. "It also reduces Tinker's carbon dioxide emissions by 60 million tons, which is the equivalent of removing 6,100 cars from the road." Under the Energy Savings Performance contract, a contractor funds the project upfront with Tinker's approval. In return, the government will repay the cost to the contractor over the course of 22 years using funds garnered through energy savings. Honeywell, a technology manufacturing company based in New Jersey, funded the project. Honeywell guarantees the improvements will generate cost savings sufficient to pay for the contract, officials said. The project is estimated to save the base approximately $6 million per year. To date, the central steam plant in Bldg. 5802, which fed the west side of the base including the former 72nd Medical Group clinic, was shut down last spring. The plant in Bldg. 208, which fed the center of base, shut down its lines to buildings with numbers in the 100s, 200s and 400s this past summer. But it will still provide steam heat for the Defense Logistics Agency warehouses for one more season. In place of the steam plants, 124 boilers of various shapes and sizes have been installed to match the loads of buildings in the areas previously served by the decommissioned plants. They will heat water for air handlers, domestic hot water for bathrooms and sinks, variable refrigerant flow systems for heating and cooling, and steam boilers for process activities, said Honeywell Project Manager Paul Garnaas. Hangars and industrial buildings will have infrared heating systems, which heat surfaces and objects. It's direct, radiant heat and is a highly efficient method of providing comfort heating. "Infrared systems heat everything in their proximity -- floors, walls, aircrafts, equipment and people. Once the floors and equipment are heated, the heat then transfers to the surrounding spaces," Mr. Garnaas said. "It's a lot more comfortable than having to go make sure the fans are blowing the warm air around." The next steam plant to shut down will be Bldg. 2212 and is on the industrial side of base. It will be decommissioned next summer. Honeywell personnel are installing gas lines in that area and should be finished before winter. "The whole concept is to get everything off the steam because there are such high line losses," Mr. Garnaas said. "After the project is completed, Tinker will not have the steam plumes that were very visible all over the base. This will be a great indicator of the increased energy efficiency on Tinker."