Courtesy Photo | DLA Installation Support Project Manager Marvin Lockey (yellow shirt) shows Damon...... read more read more
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FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- Virginia is known for wild temperature swings, with temperatures ranging from the low 40s to highs near 80 degrees in one week this month.
DLA Installation Support in Richmond, Va., is minimizing the drain on energy dollars from these temperature fluctuations by installing ground source heat pumps.
According to a DLA publication outlining the agency’s energy and water strategy, the largest component of DLA’s internal energy cost is electricity.
DLA’s strategy resulted from the Federal Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which set out a goal of reducing energy use by 3 percent per year with a 30 percent savings by 2015.
Damon Igou, Defense Supply Center Richmond’s energy manager, was hired as part of the agency’s commitment to increase energy awareness at each DLA installation.
“We are installing ground source heat pumps for buildings 45, S-27, warehouse 3, and building 205,” Igou said. “These pumps use approximately 50 percent less electricity than a comparable air source heat pump.
“It was time to replace [or] renovate the heating and air conditioning systems in these buildings,” he continued.
DLA Installation Support has contracted out the drilling of the required 6 to 11 wells per site, he said.
“The number of wells is dependent on factors such as how deep the well can be vertically sunk (ideally 500 feet) and conflicts with existing underground power, water and septic lines,” said Marvin Lockey, DLA Installation Support project manager. “We also have several historical sites on center that effect where we can put wells.”
Lockey said that the new systems will be operational by the end of December.
DLA is incorporating sustainable design and development standards into all installation planning and construction and renovation projects as part of its strategy, and its goal is to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum rating in all projects by 2020, officials said.
According to the agency’s energy strategy, these standards are moving DLA from basing facility investment decisions solely on first costs to one of basing decisions on full life-cycle costs and benefits, Igou said.
Though the initial installation will cost twice as much money, Igou said, “the energy savings will [pay back] the additional cost in less than 10 years with fewer parts to wear out.”
He said the life expectancy of the mechanical parts is 25 years. The ground coil loop should last more than 50 years. Traditional air source heat pumps are expected to last 10 or 15 years.
These ground source heat pumps have an Energy Efficiency Rating of 30, while typical air source heat pumps currently available have an EER of 15.
“Basically, the ground source heat pumps systems will use about half of the electricity to produce the same amount of heating and cooling as compared to air source heat pumps,” Igou said.
A ground source heat pump is a central heating and cooling system that pumps heat to or from the ground. It uses the earth as a heat source in the winter or a heat sink in the summer. This design takes advantage of the moderate temperatures in the ground to boost efficiency and reduce the operational costs of heating and cooling systems. Ground source heat pumps harvest heat absorbed at the Earth's surface from solar energy. Depending on latitude, the temperature beneath the upper 20 feet of Earth's surface maintains a nearly constant temperature between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. These systems use a heat pump to force the transfer of heat from the ground. The core of the heat pump is a loop of refrigerant pumped through a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle that moves heat.
“Heat pumps are always more efficient at heating than pure electric heaters, even when extracting heat from cold winter air,” Lockey said. “But, unlike an air-source heat pump, which transfers heat to or from the outside air, a ground source heat pump exchanges heat with the ground. This is much more energy-efficient because underground temperatures are more stable than air temperatures through the year. Ground source heat pumps are among the most energy efficient technologies for providing heating and air conditioning.”
Igou highlighted several ongoing initiatives at DSCR.
“Much of our energy efficiency investments go to retrofitting existing facilities with heating/air conditioning, lighting, and roofs,” he said.
Additional projects include putting light sensors in office areas to automatically turn off lights and installing solar panels on buildings. The installation of solar panels is related to the agency’s goal of increasing renewable energy sources by 7.5 percent by 2013, he said.
DLA’s Energy and Water Strategy is based on five major initiatives: decrease energy waste in all systems, processes, and facilities; increase energy efficiency in all new, replaced or renovated equipment or facilities; improve energy security by reducing dependence on fossil fuels and increasing production of renewable and alternative energy sources and supplies; reduce wasteful water consumption; and decrease the impact of energy and water use on the environment.
| Date Taken: | 10.17.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2011 10:37 |
| Story ID: | 78661 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 226 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Ground source heat pumps decrease energy costs, by Strategic Communications DLA, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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