TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. —
Think about slicing your heating or electrical invoice by 50%. The Oklahoma Metropolis Air Logistics Complicated is on monitor to try this, assembly its objective of decreasing vitality consumption by 50% from its 2015 baseline.
Present vitality consumption has been lowered 35% in contrast with 2015, with work persevering with to fulfill the objective.
“Fifty % is our stretch objective,” stated Joseph Cecrle, OC-ALC vitality supervisor. “We blew previous our unique 25% objective a very long time in the past.”
Cecrle developed a two-pronged path to those financial savings. The primary prong was a kind of contract referred to as an vitality financial savings efficiency contract. It makes use of third celebration financing to enhance ALC services and methods.
“The contractor recognized the initiatives the place they might assure us vitality price financial savings,” Cecrle stated. “Then they introduced within the financing, the specialists, and the {hardware} itself. Now they’re monitoring and sustaining these methods to verify they proceed to carry out over the 20 years of the contract.”
The contractor is paid again out of the vitality price financial savings that the ALC sees every month.
The second prong of Cecrle’s technique was to implement a proper vitality administration system. Such a system mandates reporting vitality efficiency in any respect ranges as much as the OC-ALC Commander. It additionally requires the consideration of vitality in procurement, design, and upkeep actions.
The OC-ALC was the primary federal facility to be licensed to ISO 50001 for strategic vitality administration in 2017. The Worldwide Group for Standardization, a nongovernmental group composed of 162 nationwide requirements our bodies, units the certification requirements for vitality administration practices.
“Our ISO 50001 Vitality Administration System gave vitality visibility throughout the ALC that it had not had earlier than,” Cecrle stated. “It made vitality efficiency enchancment a part of what we do.”
Cecrle selected to focus vitality administration actions on implementing modifications in ALC procedures and processes that didn’t require new {hardware} to understand vitality financial savings.
“We’re figuring out locations the place we will match assets, for instance steam or chilled water, to the present demand by the manufacturing teams. This permits us to enhance vitality efficiency on the system degree by 25 to 30%.”
Cecrle added, “That is for gratis! And the decrease throttle ranges are decreasing upkeep demand as nicely.”
A latest instance was discovered within the 76th Upkeep Assist Group’s compressor store. The air compressor financial institution supplies large quantities of compressed air to CMXG’s Air Equipment Upkeep Facility subsequent door. It’s the largest compressed air person throughout all of Tinker.
“Patrick Duff, who was a MXSG Constructing supervisor on the time, advised we tailor compressed air manufacturing to the anticipated schedule on the opposite facet of the wall in CMXG’s air accent upkeep operation,” Cecrle stated. “Once we requested how to do that, Duff stated, ‘Why don’t we simply make a cellphone name as soon as a day to seek out out what the schedule is.’”
Duff in the end carried out a “cellphone name protocol” that improved vitality efficiency by 50% and saved the ALC $20,000 to $40,000 per 30 days in electrical payments. These financial savings will proceed perpetually as a result of Duff included the cellphone name protocol into the work management paperwork for the power.
“That is actual vitality administration,” Cecrle stated. “And these sorts of enhancements will grow to be much more vital as we work to make the ALC extra vitality resilient.”
Cecrle emphasised that they’re all the time searching for new locations to focus. Personnel who know the place the OC-ALC can higher match the availability of steam, chilled water, compressed air, or scorching water to precise manufacturing group demand, are inspired to let the vitality workforce know by emailing OCALC.Vitality.Assurance@us.af.mil.
