Working Towards Net Zero Energy at Fort Irwin, CA

摘要

This work conducted an Energy Assessment at Fort Irwin, CA, as a part of a Net-Zero initiative. The scope included an assessment of a 'Cluster' of buildings with a focus on retrofits to minimize net energy use within the Cluster. The work additionally identified energy savings measures and wastes and inefficiencies on a limited basis for other areas of the installation. This report explores two strategies for evaluating energy-efficient technologies: (1) to install and evaluate several different energy efficient heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system designs and renewable energy projects that may lead to the lowest lifecycle cost for a facility, and (2) to 'cherry-pick' the least-first-cost options and install them at a complex, and then to evaluate their performance against each other. This work concluded that, depending on the type of HVAC system chosen for the Cluster, the savings potential (simple payback) of upgrading to a Net-Zero energy ready building (beyond the savings of a normal Army upgrade) varies from 2.8 to 13.8 yrs. This work also explored renewable energy opportunities as part of the Net-Zero concept. Results showed that energy use could be significantly reduced towards Net-Zero energy use with a payback of less than 15 yrs with the implementation and use of renewable energy technologies.