Members of the ESTCP Energy and Water (EW) team recently traveled to Fort Bragg, NC, home of the Army’s Airborne and Special Operation Forces, to tour several ongoing ESTCP projects. Fort Bragg is a critical installation for the Army as well an instrumental energy test bed for the EW program, currently hosting six active projects. This does not include the several EW completed projects, projects planned to start in the future at Fort Bragg, or numerous projects in other Program Areas. The EW team’s visit was graciously hosted by Fort Bragg’s Department of Public Works office.
The demonstrations hosted by Fort Bragg range from energy efficiency technologies that involve innovative building insulation or HVAC systems, to microgrid projects that are designed to reduce energy consumption while improving the base’s power quality and energy security. Covering a wide swath of technologies, all of these demonstrations enhance the installation’s infrastructure and ability to maintain its critical mission.
Ongoing technology demonstrations include:
- Honeywell’s Secure Network of Assured Power Enclaves (SNAPE)
- U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory’s (CERL) Energy Efficient Phase Change Materials (PCM) Insulation
- U.S. Army CERL’s High Efficiency Dehumidification System
- Honeywell’s Central Plant Optimization for Waste Energy Reduction
- U.S. Army CERL’s Converting Constant Volume, Multizone Air Handling Systems to Energy-Efficient Variable Air Volume Multizone Systems
- Bosch’s DC Microgrid Building Energy Management Platform for Improved Energy Efficiency, Energy Security, and Operating Costs
In addition to the ongoing efforts at Fort Bragg, ESTCP recently selected an FY 2015 new start project, Automated Aerosol-Sealing of Building Envelopes, from the University of California-Davis, that will conduct one of its demonstrations at Fort Bragg.
The Fort Bragg staff has not only provided essential support to the individual ESTCP projects, but is also instrumental in providing insights to assist the ESTCP program in designing realistic technology demonstrations within DoD and orienting projects so that they are positioned to successfully transfer their technologies for wider DoD adoption and to the commercial sector. Fort Bragg provides an excellent model for host installations and reinforces ESTCP’s need for supportive host installations to facilitate successful technology demonstrations.
