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 Fort Dix, a premier power projection platform, is an active U.S. Military Base and Training Center located just east of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix maintains approximately 350 boilers serving a variety of buildings across the base, including 60 barracks.
Keeping America’s troops prepared for action is a costly endeavor. Keeping base facilities up to date is a key part of maintaining that high level of readiness. To that end, the base is undertaking a boiler replacement program that will replace outdated equipment with newer high-efficiency boilers and contain operating costs.
The Challenge:
Will new equipment alone provide sufficient operational and cost savings, or could more be done?
Of course, a high-efficiency system should yield some comparative savings over the replaced equipment, but is that all there is? Bill Tarves, the President of Allied Energy Systems, Inc., pointed out that installing IntelliCon® controls would maximize the savings that Fort Dix could achieve through its boiler replacement program. High-efficiency boilers equipped with IntelliCon controls will save more energy over and above factory performance specifications, require less maintenance and enjoy a longer operational life. Most importantly, installing those IntelliCon controls will not violate the manufacturer’s warranty.
The energy manager at Fort Dix agreed to a pilot test on three (3) different boilers throughout the base to measure the potential savings before committing to the installation of the IntelliCon on all 350 new boilers.
Facility: Military Base.
Location: Trenton, New Jersey.
The Products Used:
IntelliCon-LCS - Light-Commercial Steam Heat Economizer
IntelliCon-LCH - Light-Commercial Heat Economizer
 The IntelliCon-LCH control was installed on two (2) gas-fired Lochinvar hydronic boilers with 1mbh input. The IntelliCon-LCS control was installed on a gas-fired Burnham V11 Series steam boiler with 3mbh input.
Both of the heating systems were programmed to operate on a 24x7 basis and were remotely monitored by Honeywell for operational performance and/or operating faults throughout the 22-day test period during February.
The Results:
Energy Savings: In all cases, the IntelliCon controls provided tangible energy savings with no change to the maintained temperatures in the facilities. The large reduction in boiler cycles means extended life for these new systems, with a similar reduction in attendant maintenance costs.
| Customer Unit |
IntelliCon Control |
Measured Reduction in Energy/Fuel Consumption |
| Lochinvar hydronic boilers |
LCH |
15.36% |
| Burnham V11 Series steam boiler |
LCS |
15.43% |
| Customer Unit |
IntelliCon Control |
Measured Reduction in Cycle Time |
| Lochinvar hydronic boilers |
LCH |
61.5% |
| Burnham V11 Series steam boiler |
LCS |
23.2% |
Payback Period: Based on these test results and the manufacturers’ nameplate firing rates, the calculated savings for the two Lochinvar boilers should be approximately $800 per month of operation. Similarly, the calculated savings for the Burnham Steam boiler would be approximately $1,035 per month for a total of $1,835 savings per month of operation for the two systems. These calculations assume an energy cost in the $.80 per Therm range for natural gas. These savings do not include the cost savings that accrue from lower maintenance costs.
“At this rate of energy savings, the base will realize a payback on its investment in less than eight months,” continued Mr. Tarves.
Final Notes:“The energy savings resulting from the installation of the IntelliCon controls are impressive enough on their own,” said Mr. Tarves. “But, when you factor in the significant reduction in cycling and emissions from the base’s heating systems, you just can’t argue the positive effects IntelliCon has on both energy expenditure and the environment.”
Fort Dix and Allied Energy are currently discussing the inclusion of IntelliCon economizers on all of the remaining boilers. |
