Extensive energy improvements envisioned at Tinker

  • Published
  • By Tinker Public Affairs
  • Mike W. Ray
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --   Major renovations are envisioned at Tinker under the public/private Energy Savings Performance Contract that was celebrated Tuesday.

According to Mark McWhirter, Tinker's new Base Energy Manager, Bldg. 5802, the Central Heating Plant, will be mothballed; Bldg. 208 and Bldg. 2212, a booster plant that provides additional heat to Bldg. 3001 in the winter, will be scrapped; and the Central Plant in Bldg. 3001 will be rehabilitated.

Rex Stanford, a mechanical engineer in the 72nd Air Base Wing's Civil Engineering Directorate, said the four central steam plants at Tinker serve 71 buildings; 56 of those buildings will be decentralized under the ESPC, he said.

Natural-gas lines will be constructed to, and energy-efficient steam heating equipment will be installed inside, each of those 56 buildings, Mr. Stanford indicated. Water treatment equipment will be installed to serve those boilers by "softening" the water, Mr. McWhirter said, because "hard" water can damage a boiler in a relatively short span of time.

The central steam plant was constructed in 1959 and serves most of the buildings in its immediate area, Mr. McWhirter said. "Almost 500,000 square feet of space is heated by this facility," he said. Its two natural-gas fired boilers produce almost 4,000 pounds of steam per hour, at 125 pounds of pressure. Within the not-too-distant future, Bldg. 5802 will be "pickled" but not demolished, he said. Some of its equipment -- its chillers, for example -- probably will be salvaged for use elsewhere on the base.

Construction on the ESPC will require an estimated 33 months to complete.

One obvious change resulting from the ESPC project will be the absence of steam rising from pipes beneath Tinker's sidewalks and streets, noted Colonel Steven Bleymaier, 72nd Air Base Wing and Tinker installation commander.

Extensive energy improvements envisioned at Tinker

  • Published
  • By Tinker Public Affairs
  • Mike W. Ray
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --   Major renovations are envisioned at Tinker under the public/private Energy Savings Performance Contract that was celebrated Tuesday.

According to Mark McWhirter, Tinker's new Base Energy Manager, Bldg. 5802, the Central Heating Plant, will be mothballed; Bldg. 208 and Bldg. 2212, a booster plant that provides additional heat to Bldg. 3001 in the winter, will be scrapped; and the Central Plant in Bldg. 3001 will be rehabilitated.

Rex Stanford, a mechanical engineer in the 72nd Air Base Wing's Civil Engineering Directorate, said the four central steam plants at Tinker serve 71 buildings; 56 of those buildings will be decentralized under the ESPC, he said.

Natural-gas lines will be constructed to, and energy-efficient steam heating equipment will be installed inside, each of those 56 buildings, Mr. Stanford indicated. Water treatment equipment will be installed to serve those boilers by "softening" the water, Mr. McWhirter said, because "hard" water can damage a boiler in a relatively short span of time.

The central steam plant was constructed in 1959 and serves most of the buildings in its immediate area, Mr. McWhirter said. "Almost 500,000 square feet of space is heated by this facility," he said. Its two natural-gas fired boilers produce almost 4,000 pounds of steam per hour, at 125 pounds of pressure. Within the not-too-distant future, Bldg. 5802 will be "pickled" but not demolished, he said. Some of its equipment -- its chillers, for example -- probably will be salvaged for use elsewhere on the base.

Construction on the ESPC will require an estimated 33 months to complete.

One obvious change resulting from the ESPC project will be the absence of steam rising from pipes beneath Tinker's sidewalks and streets, noted Colonel Steven Bleymaier, 72nd Air Base Wing and Tinker installation commander.