Editor’s Note: The article below is cross-posted from The Energy Express, a publication of the Energy Directorate at Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC), based at Tyndall Air Force Base.

When it comes to saving energy, many people think of alternative energy sources which can produce energy from seemingly limitless resources – renewables such as wind and solar, for example. But to harness the full power of renewables, you’ve got to start with energy efficiency and by reducing the demand on energy sources. This is particularly important at our forward operating bases. These locations run diesel generators, and all the fuel for the generators has to be trucked in or, in some cases, dropped from aircraft. Resupply is expensive and in often dangerous.

In 2011, the Secretary of Defense announced the Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund, which is funding a variety of efforts to promote energy innovation throughout the Department. One of the first programs selected is titled Advanced Energy Efficient Shelter Systems (AEESS), and is led by Amy Klopotoski, Contingency Basing Science & Technology Lead at Natick Soldier Systems Center. AEESS is an Army and Air Force collaboration aimed at improving the energy efficiency of tents and soft shelters across the Department. This $17.4M, four year program actually combines the use of some photovoltaics with advanced materials and design innovations to make more energy efficient tents and shelters. The goal for AESS is to demonstrate and transition shelter systems that reduce power consumption by 50%. Below is a report of progress report as Air Force and Army personnel deploy and test improvements in an expeditionary environment.

For more on AEESS, also be sure to check out AFCEC engineer Rod Fisher’s article which appeared in The Military Engineer earlier this year.

---

Expeditionary bases test new energy technology
by Amy Ausley
AFCEC Public Affairs

Saving energy is a requirement not only for brick and mortar bases, but also for expeditionary locations. A joint Air Force/Army research project to do this has moved into the initial phase of testing in an actual real-world environment in the Southwest Asia Area of Responsibility. The project seeks to save a minimum of 50 percent of the energy required to support Air Force and Army expeditionary bases.

The Air Force Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources base, or BEAR, program provides expeditionary facilities for up to 3,300 people in austere locations. The base is self-contained and is a major energy user, consuming up to 10.5 megawatts of power and up to 13,000 gallons of fuel a day.

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- A tent with a reflective covering is installed at a base here as part of a joint research project between the Air Force and Army to test energy saving technologies in the AOR. The tents include insulated liners, photovoltaic flys and more efficient environmental control units. The project will monitor the energy-saving capabilities of the new technologies over the next year. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Christopher Campbell). Download Hi Res.

In July 2013, the Air Force and the Army shipped a total of 15 shelters with environmental control units (ECU) and monitoring systems to a base in Southwest Asia, and this week a team deployed to set up the systems and begin the evaluation in the expeditionary setting. Eight of the shelters will be occupied; four Air Force and four Army, and the other 7 will be unoccupied to provide baseline data.

The tents include new technologies such as heat reflective flys that block the sun’s heat, photovoltaic panels to generate power, insulated liners and vestibules with hard doors, as opposed to zippered tent flaps, to help with the insulation process.

The project has created a lot of interest at the test base according to Capt. Clark Smith, deputy commander for the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron. “There has definitely been a lot of curiosity leading up to the team’s arrival and as the shelters have gone up, both by the Airmen assisting with the set-up and others who have heard about them,” said Smith. “I started my career at the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center so I’m glad they are bringing these [tents] here to get feedback from the AOR.”

Rod Fisher, expeditionary modernization engineer at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, says this test will show exactly what the updated tents can do.

“It’s a much harsher environment than in the states. But that is the actual environment the shelters have to survive in and we need some real-world data,” said Fisher. “We’ll be looking at the efficiencies, how cool we can keep the shelters, how much power it demands in that environment, and we’ll get feedback
from the guys that are living in the tents.” Smith says the location is the perfect environment because the new tents will get a side-by-side comparison with the base’s existing tents.

“Expeditionary shelters must withstand high temperatures, strong winds and blowing dust and we have plenty of that here,” said Smith. “I’m interested in feeling the difference from the new shading and insulating methods and in how functional they are from a user perspective.”

For the last five years, the Air Force and the Army have been researching expeditionary energy-saving techniques through the Net Zero Plus Joint Capability Technology Demonstration. The current project is funded by the Department of Defense, and combines all the lessons learned while continuing
to research new technologies.

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Airmen at a base here erect special tents equipped with new energy-saving technologies. The tents equipped with photovoltaic flys, insulated liners and more efficient environmental control units are being monitored in the harsh desert conditions to see how effective they are at saving energy. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Fisher says one of the biggest issues is the energy efficiency of the small tent shelters. Currently, around 60 percent of daily power needed at a BEAR base goes towards cooling the tents. It takes one ECU to cool or heat one tent.

“Improving shelter efficiency means we can now cool two shelters with one ECU. That allows us to leave about 125 ECUs and the associated power distribution equipment at home for a 3,000-person base. It saves us about 2.25 megawatt of power. Switching to a more efficient ECU can provide another megawatt of savings,” Fisher said. “Since we have to shade the tents anyway to improve the energy efficiency, we put solar panels on some of them to generate power, about a megawatt of power for a full base.” All of it equates to fewer ECUs, which means less fuel is needed and therefore, fewer fuel convoys.

“As engineers, we are in tune with the resources and manpower required to get a base established from the ground up. With these shelter systems we can decrease the number of AC units we transport, set-up, and maintain,” said Smith. “That means fewer man hours as well as significantly lower power requirements, all things that make engineers and logisticians lives’ easier and saves big bucks for the taxpayers.” According to Fisher, reducing the energy demand at a BEAR base is a cost-saving measure, but ultimately, it saves lives. “We lose one person for every 29 convoys delivering fuel to these remote locations,” said Fisher. “One of the biggest issues is keeping the troops out of harm’s way by keeping them off the fuel convoys.”

While the expeditionary testing phase of the project is happening, phase two continues in the states to improve the energy efficiency of the larger tents used in expeditionary settings for maintenance, supply and storage. Testing includes more efficient liners, reflective coatings for the tents and adjustable liners that drop down and reduce the ceiling height to limit the volume of air to be cooled.

Phase three will include a follow-on demonstration in a real world expeditionary environment in the spring of 2015.

Editor’s Note: The article below is cross-posted from The Energy Express, a publication of the Energy Directorate at Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC), based at Tyndall Air Force Base.

When it comes to saving energy, many people think of alternative energy sources which can produce energy from seemingly limitless resources – renewables such as wind and solar, for example. But to harness the full power of renewables, you’ve got to start with energy efficiency and by reducing the demand on energy sources. This is particularly important at our forward operating bases. These locations run diesel generators, and all the fuel for the generators has to be trucked in or, in some cases, dropped from aircraft. Resupply is expensive and in often dangerous.

In 2011, the Secretary of Defense announced the Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund, which is funding a variety of efforts to promote energy innovation throughout the Department. One of the first programs selected is titled Advanced Energy Efficient Shelter Systems (AEESS), and is led by Amy Klopotoski, Contingency Basing Science & Technology Lead at Natick Soldier Systems Center. AEESS is an Army and Air Force collaboration aimed at improving the energy efficiency of tents and soft shelters across the Department. This $17.4M, four year program actually combines the use of some photovoltaics with advanced materials and design innovations to make more energy efficient tents and shelters. The goal for AESS is to demonstrate and transition shelter systems that reduce power consumption by 50%. Below is a report of progress report as Air Force and Army personnel deploy and test improvements in an expeditionary environment.

For more on AEESS, also be sure to check out AFCEC engineer Rod Fisher’s article which appeared in The Military Engineer earlier this year.

---

Expeditionary bases test new energy technology
by Amy Ausley
AFCEC Public Affairs

Saving energy is a requirement not only for brick and mortar bases, but also for expeditionary locations. A joint Air Force/Army research project to do this has moved into the initial phase of testing in an actual real-world environment in the Southwest Asia Area of Responsibility. The project seeks to save a minimum of 50 percent of the energy required to support Air Force and Army expeditionary bases.

The Air Force Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources base, or BEAR, program provides expeditionary facilities for up to 3,300 people in austere locations. The base is self-contained and is a major energy user, consuming up to 10.5 megawatts of power and up to 13,000 gallons of fuel a day.

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- A tent with a reflective covering is installed at a base here as part of a joint research project between the Air Force and Army to test energy saving technologies in the AOR. The tents include insulated liners, photovoltaic flys and more efficient environmental control units. The project will monitor the energy-saving capabilities of the new technologies over the next year. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Christopher Campbell). Download Hi Res.

In July 2013, the Air Force and the Army shipped a total of 15 shelters with environmental control units (ECU) and monitoring systems to a base in Southwest Asia, and this week a team deployed to set up the systems and begin the evaluation in the expeditionary setting. Eight of the shelters will be occupied; four Air Force and four Army, and the other 7 will be unoccupied to provide baseline data.

The tents include new technologies such as heat reflective flys that block the sun’s heat, photovoltaic panels to generate power, insulated liners and vestibules with hard doors, as opposed to zippered tent flaps, to help with the insulation process.

The project has created a lot of interest at the test base according to Capt. Clark Smith, deputy commander for the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron. “There has definitely been a lot of curiosity leading up to the team’s arrival and as the shelters have gone up, both by the Airmen assisting with the set-up and others who have heard about them,” said Smith. “I started my career at the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center so I’m glad they are bringing these [tents] here to get feedback from the AOR.”

Rod Fisher, expeditionary modernization engineer at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, says this test will show exactly what the updated tents can do.

“It’s a much harsher environment than in the states. But that is the actual environment the shelters have to survive in and we need some real-world data,” said Fisher. “We’ll be looking at the efficiencies, how cool we can keep the shelters, how much power it demands in that environment, and we’ll get feedback
from the guys that are living in the tents.” Smith says the location is the perfect environment because the new tents will get a side-by-side comparison with the base’s existing tents.

“Expeditionary shelters must withstand high temperatures, strong winds and blowing dust and we have plenty of that here,” said Smith. “I’m interested in feeling the difference from the new shading and insulating methods and in how functional they are from a user perspective.”

For the last five years, the Air Force and the Army have been researching expeditionary energy-saving techniques through the Net Zero Plus Joint Capability Technology Demonstration. The current project is funded by the Department of Defense, and combines all the lessons learned while continuing
to research new technologies.

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Airmen at a base here erect special tents equipped with new energy-saving technologies. The tents equipped with photovoltaic flys, insulated liners and more efficient environmental control units are being monitored in the harsh desert conditions to see how effective they are at saving energy. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Fisher says one of the biggest issues is the energy efficiency of the small tent shelters. Currently, around 60 percent of daily power needed at a BEAR base goes towards cooling the tents. It takes one ECU to cool or heat one tent.

“Improving shelter efficiency means we can now cool two shelters with one ECU. That allows us to leave about 125 ECUs and the associated power distribution equipment at home for a 3,000-person base. It saves us about 2.25 megawatt of power. Switching to a more efficient ECU can provide another megawatt of savings,” Fisher said. “Since we have to shade the tents anyway to improve the energy efficiency, we put solar panels on some of them to generate power, about a megawatt of power for a full base.” All of it equates to fewer ECUs, which means less fuel is needed and therefore, fewer fuel convoys.

“As engineers, we are in tune with the resources and manpower required to get a base established from the ground up. With these shelter systems we can decrease the number of AC units we transport, set-up, and maintain,” said Smith. “That means fewer man hours as well as significantly lower power requirements, all things that make engineers and logisticians lives’ easier and saves big bucks for the taxpayers.” According to Fisher, reducing the energy demand at a BEAR base is a cost-saving measure, but ultimately, it saves lives. “We lose one person for every 29 convoys delivering fuel to these remote locations,” said Fisher. “One of the biggest issues is keeping the troops out of harm’s way by keeping them off the fuel convoys.”

While the expeditionary testing phase of the project is happening, phase two continues in the states to improve the energy efficiency of the larger tents used in expeditionary settings for maintenance, supply and storage. Testing includes more efficient liners, reflective coatings for the tents and adjustable liners that drop down and reduce the ceiling height to limit the volume of air to be cooled.

Phase three will include a follow-on demonstration in a real world expeditionary environment in the spring of 2015.