Fort Knox
TRANE PROVES TO BE AS GOOD AS GOLD FOR FORT KNOX
WITH NEW “PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING” DIRECTIVES, FORT KNOX UTILIZES TRANE EXPERTISE, PERFORMANCE AND SAVINGS
Historically, US Army purchasing has operated on a low-bid basis. This procurement method has not always resulted in the lowest total cost of ownership, especially when it comes to HVAC equipment. Buying from the lowest bidder led to unsatisfactory long-term results, including unacceptable comfort levels, poor operating economy, and lack of reliability. With the passage of the 1992 Energy Policy Act, mandating a 35-percent reduction of energy use in federal facilities by the year 2010, the Army was able to select equipment based on broader criteria than lowest first cost. However, despite this greater purchasing freedom, available funding was still an issue. But when the Army entered into a Utility Energy Services Contract (UESC) with Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation (RECC), they found a way to work within existing budget constraints. The UESC is designed to let federal facilities enter into agreements to attain needed capital improvements which they finance with cost savings from more efficient operations. When the Army hired Nolin RECC for their expertise, Nolin RECC turned to Trane for the right HVAC with a contract the Army could afford.
Nolin RECC Vice President of Operations Vince Heuser explains why they subcontracted much of the energy improvement work to Trane, “We went to Trane to seek out the best overall solutions for projects on the base.” And, according to Heuser, Trane didn’t disappoint. “They spent countless hours developing solutions to problems that had gone unresolved for decades.” Under the subcontracting agreement, Trane supplies comfort system equipment, software, and even operates many of the systems. Trane also takes responsibility for maintenance on the equipment to keep it operating at peak efficiency. Heuser said Trane’s superior equipment and expertise weren’t the only deciding factors in their choice, “[Trane] offers turnkey solutions. You know the job will be completed on time with minimal problems and will perform as well as expected, or better.” Not only was this an ambitious job but it was a high-profile one as well. Other military bases were watching what was happening at Fort Knox with great interest.
Fort Knox, is in effect, a small city. Its 170-square-mile base is home to 27,000 people, 1,100 government buildings and over 3,000 family housing units. By increasing HVAC system efficiency for a facility this large, Trane could save Fort Knox a significant amount of money. The first major improvement was the installation of hundreds of geothermal heat pumps with vertical heat-exchange wells. These units provide impressive economy while still improving performance over Fort Knox’s older heating and cooling system. The system uses TRANE Model GEVA (vertical) and GEHA (horizontal) units, in sizes ranging from two to five tons. Another energy conservation project was replacing the old boilers and chiller plant equipment serving the base’s Ireland Army Hospital. Trane installed new CenTraVac™ Model CVHF centrifugal chillers rated at 800 tons each. The performance of these chillers is so efficient they frequently replace larger-capacity equipment, and yet they operate at a miserly .578 kW/ton at full load and .53 kW/ton at APLV. Trane also equipped the chiller plant with a plate and frame heat exchanger for chiller-free cooling in cooler months. These changes have contributed to an annual savings of $3.5 million for Fort Knox, with over $1 million in savings coming from efficiency of the hospital’s new chiller plant. We have a feeling that all of those military bases that were watching this project with interest will be very impressed by those results.
Trane
160 Trane ground-source heat pumps in both vertical and horizontal airflow configurations
160 Trane loop pump kits to provide individual pumping to each unit
Zoned vertical ground loop heat exchangers
energy recovery ventilators
Trane direct digital controls
TRANE Tracer Summit™ system
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