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No heat, No cool

  • Published
Fall is here and members of the 43rd Civil Engineer Squadron heating, ventilation and air conditioning section are in the process of preparing for the upcoming heating season.

The HVAC shop will start turning off chillers and heat pumps on Oct. 12. Some systems will then require a cool down period, as they share the same heating and cooling water pipes.

After completing these steps, an intensive preventative maintenance program will be performed.

"System maintenance is a periodic requirement that takes priority over routine repairs," said Don Hodson, 43rd CES Operations Flight deputy commander.

"Without our recurring maintenance program, some systems would deteriorate to the point of catastrophic failure," Don Hodson added. "We look forward to the change-over period between heating and cooling to accomplish the majority of our maintenance."

By Oct 1, the Energy Conservation Policy's "No-Heat/No-Cool" plan will kick into action and continue until Nov 15, weather permitting. During the no-heat/no-cool period, 43rd CES will complete the third step of preparing all buildings to switch over to cooling.

According to the Pope Energy conservation policy, during the winter season the no-heat period can be suspended if the daily average outdoor air temperature falls below 55 degrees F for 5 consecutive days.

The Civil Engineers will program the appropriate temperatures for buildings with Direct Digital Controls (DDC).
The base wide Energy Management Control system will control these buildings from a central location.

"The base averages around $300,000 in utility bills per month," said Capt Kyle Bergren, Pope Energy Manager. "A very large portion of Pope's energy usage is related to heating, ventilation and air conditioning".

"Taking advantage of mild weather is an excellent opportunity to save money and energy, Capt Bergren added.

By turning off the HVAC systems, Pope can achieve a 30 percent reduction in energy use, which is vital to our success in meeting our reduction goals mandated by EO 13423 and EPACT 2005."

"The overall plan is to save energy for the base," said Robert Logan, 43rd CES HVAC supervisor. "In addition to reducing how long we leave things on, we are installing more efficient equipment to help save energy."

Dormitories and billeting are the priority for switching to heating, followed by training facilities, then remaining administrative facilities and the industrial facilities.

The facility managers are the first point of contact for any building and equipment problems.

For more information, contact CE customer service at 394-2821.