In late 2003, the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort was awarded the Commander in Chief Installation Excellence Award signed by the Secretary of Defense for successful energy conservation projects.
MCAS Beaufort also won a U.S. Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) 2003 Federal Energy Saver Showcase designation.
In 2000, PNNL was commissioned to design, procure, and install an Energy Management Control System (EMCS) at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, as well as at the MCRD Parris Island. At Beaufort and Parris Island, like most commercial facilities over the past several years, new buildings and new or upgraded mechanical systems have been installed. These changes have been performed under several modest-to large-scale projects. As each system was installed, a control system was installed independently of any other control systems on the base. In the olden days, these control systems were basic pneumatic-style control systems. Pneumatics was virtually the same for all systems and was very similar in operation. A technician with a good understanding of pneumatics could service the controls, even to the point of replacing individual components in a system with a different brand, and have little or no effect on control balance or strategies.
As technology advanced and basic electronic systems became more reliable and economical than pneumatics, these newer systems began to be installed on base projects during the 1970s to 1980s. No overall administrative control was established on these systems and thus any control system or brand that met the general specifications was installed. These systems used electronic control modules to read sensors and provide an output control signal to an electronically operated control element (for example, solenoid valve or motorized valve). Each brand and style of controller was different and non-interchangeable, locking the purchaser into working only with that brand, and severely limiting the ability of these systems to talk to each other and share control data. The facilities have several types of EMCSs scattered over several buildings that originated from different manufacturers. Some are small systems to control one simple control loop and others provide the controls for complete buildings. Manufacturers include Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Robert Shaw, Seibe, Trane, York, and others.
The next advance after the development of electronic controls was to install true digital controls. Digital control systems have been installed in the last 10 years. This development opened up the control of building systems to the computer and communication world that is now used by most management firms to control infrastructure and information. Because the same construction, engineering, and maintenance protocols that were used during the pneumatic days are still used today, the base has also acquired diverse Direct Digital Control (DDC) control systems. Some of these DDC systems have been linked via phone modems to the maintenance office and others are standalone.
Five DDC or EMCSs that have front-end software are capable of remote data communications to the maintenance shop. It was apparent from discussions with users that it was a major task for operations and maintenance staff to be proficient in such multiple system operation. The operation or maintenance of any one of the systems can be complicated enough, but to be proficient in five different systems that are proprietary was very difficult, especially when other tasks required more immediate attention.
When a task involving an EMCS was required, it took several minutes using dial-up modems to call a building and get data from or send a request to the devices in the field. The computer might have to be turned on or come out of screen saver mode. The correct EMCS vendor program frequently must have been started. The computer then phone-dialed the facility requested to collect data from and, hopefully, a connection was made and data could be accessed. Frequently, redialing was necessary, and in some cases, the computer never got a connection. PNNL strongly recommended use of the base Local Area Network (LAN) or fiber systems for EMCS project installation.
As part of an ambitious energy conservation project at the Air Station aimed at reducing shore facility energy consumption by 12%, MCAS Beaufort teamed up with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to install a $2.6 million EMCS to set heating and cooling levels, control lighting, and manage peak loads. The project team targeted buildings that have a high-energy savings payback on HVAC system and lighting control changes. Most of these buildings were barracks, office areas, and hangar lighting controls that were not in use all day. Team members added occupancy controls, temperature monitoring/controls for both high and low limits, and light level controls. They also established a base-wide LAN for using the EMCS. This feature allows the Air Station to monitor incoming power usage and automatically control peak demand load shedding. Forty-nine buildings are now being managed at a central location.
The system is saving more than 34,000 MBTUs annually, with an annual cost savings of $624,000. Due to reductions in electricity and natural gas consumption, the project is achieving annual emissions reductions of 6,712 Mg of CO2, 19,068 Kg of SO2, and 18,647 Kg of NOx. In addition to reducing overall energy consumption and peak demand charges, the project will have a tremendous impact on maintenance costs. Now technicians can monitor and program controls for multiple buildings from a central location; evaluate operational conditions from a site-wide perspective; and use automated HVAC control diagnostics and link through the computer into preventative maintenance programs and information. PNNL is also very hopeful that the life expectancies of the HVAC equipment will be greatly lengthened as a result of reduced run time and more attention to preventative maintenance.
Due to the early success of this project at MCAS Beaufort, additional buildings beyond the original scope of the project are being evaluated to receive the same upgrades. We intend on having essentially every building on base controlled by this system. Compatible controls are being added to all projects including the Trane Technology Specific Super ESPC currently under construction. The more buildings under control the better chance of meeting peak load reduction goals.
Following the strong recommendations by PNNL EMCS project staff, MCAS Beaufort established an Energy Controls Technician position and posted PNNL's recommended candidate to fill the initial position. This position was established to ensure that a highly competent individual take responsibility for EMCS after initial installation and setup; the systems reap the expected substantial benefits; and the systems be properly maintained.
Meador RJ. 2002. USMC Bases Apply Latest Technology to Manage Energy Resources. PNNL-SA-36040. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington.
Meador RJ. 2002. USMC Uses Latest Tech to Manage Energy. In energized, The Monthly Newsletter for Energy Managers and Public Affairs Officers, Volume 7, Issue 5, May 2002.
Meador RJ. 2001. Marine Corps Uses Decision Support System to Manage Utilities. In FEMP Focus, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, November 2001.
Meador RJ. 2001. USMC Bases Attack Energy Management Head-On! PNNL-SA-35107. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington.