Kroeschell, Inc.

Scope Of Work

The United States Air Force Medical Support Agency (AFMSA) serves the healthcare needs of millions of American service men and women. These facilities require a substantial amount of power, but with energy costs exponentially increasing, energy efficiency measures were in order.

Challenge

In 2007, The Air Force was beginning to comply with federal energy mandates such as the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

With over 60,000 personnel in hospitals, medical centers and clinics in freestanding buildings ranging from 10 to 60 years old, implementing energy efficiency measures was going to be a herculean task. In some cases, the machinery and equipment haven’t been updated in decades.

But, Kroeschell was up to the task, and the AFMSA commissioned us to help the Air Force achieve its goals.

Solution

After an in-depth study, Kroeschell recommended an extensive power-metering project to track and analyze energy usage across the breadth of AFMSA facilities. This allowed us to identify best practices and areas for improvement. Utilizing Square D® PowerLogic® ION meters, we were able to uncover what the high-performance facilities were doing right and where under-performing facilities fell short.

The project scope included:

Metering at 62 campuses nationwide, including dozens of hospitals, medical centers and clinics

Utilization of more than 100 power meters.

Capture information on all utility usage – electric, water, gas, steam and chilled water.

Accessible data by Kroeschell and AFMS engineering personnel via the internet. Provides an accurate snapshot of dozens of facets of energy usage.

Meters were allowed to continued to capture data for approximately one year to establish a solid energy baseline from which object decisions on where and hot to make changes should occur.

The project included:

Relocating an existing clean in place (CIP) system

Installing three tanks, three transfer panels and five process pumps.

Linking the tanks, transfer panels, process pumps, and CIP system with high purity process piping.

Fabricating hot water and chilled water piping loops feeding the tanks.

Installing valving and instrumentation throughout the system along with the associated pneumatic tubing and control wiring.

The project used a 3-phase approach to ensure a smooth install and minimize manufacturing downtown. Phase 1 included relocation of the CIP system. Phase 2 included the fabrication of the new mix system. Phase 3 included upgrading one of the existing mix systems.

Results

Over the course of 18 months, Kroeschell was able to:

By analyzing the data and providing insights – like reducing the lighting and HVAC at night and keeping equipment well maintained – many less energy efficient facilities have been able to make significant improvements. In other cases, through more thorough engineering reviews, we have been able to make major improvements; such as, interlocking a facility’s exhaust fan to the supply fans in order to integrate them into the building automation system, which made the fans more efficient and required less usage.