Wright-Patt AFB looks to trim $20M power bill
Outside specialists would like to work to help the base conserve
Sunday, March 15, 2009
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB — How big is your electricity bill a month? How about your company's?
Imagine having a $20 million electricity bill. That's about how much it cost to power Wright-Patterson Air Force Base last year, making it the largest single-site customer for Dayton Power and Light Co.
Base officials are looking at ways to cut those taxpayer costs.
Federal economic stimulus funding will allow Wright-Patterson to do a $1.3 million modernization of lighting systems in 35 buildings to reduce energy use, base energy managers said.
A similar lighting retrofit a decade ago resulted in savings of $20,000 per month, said Gavin Jones, energy program manager for the 88th Air Base Wing, which runs Wright-Patterson.
Maintenance personnel also are trying to reduce energy loss from insulation and condensation-releasing traps on 50-year-old underground piping, said Dave Burkholder, the wing's maintenance branch chief who oversees Wright-Patterson's energy program. The piping carries steam for heating base buildings and supporting research experiments.
In the summer, base managers shut down air-handling systems for short periods to save energy, and work with Wright-Patterson's labs to try to ensure that they don't run electricity-gulping experiments at the same time that air conditioners are going full blast.
"It's a juggling issue, between money and mission," Jones said.
Some outside specialists would like to work with Wright-Patterson managers on energy conservation. Officials with the University of Dayton and the Dayton-based engineering and design firm Woolpert Inc. said they have had conversations with base officials, but funding isn't available.
"When you take a big place like Wright-Patt, there's a lot of places to look for energy loss, whether it's water or electricity," said Shane Imwalle, a vice president at Woolpert.
Imwalle suggested to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, at a Feb. 19 meeting that Washington could consider funding efforts between the base and community. The senator would need to see a specific plan first, said Meghan Dubyak, a spokeswoman for Brown.
Examination of monthly energy data reports from individual buildings can pinpoint energy-loss areas, said Kelly Kissock, director of the University of Dayton's Industrial Assessment Center. It is one of 26 U.S. Department of Energy-funded centers that do free energy-use audits for mid-sized industries.
Woolpert does aerial mapping for government and private-sector customers. The firm could put thermal-energy sensors aboard planes to fly over the base and look for steam and other heat loss from buildings, Imwalle said.
