Advanced meters to help Air Force measure utilities

  • Published
  • By Jennifer Elmore
  • Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency and Tinker Public Affairs
Tyndall AFB, Fla. --  When it comes to energy, the old axiom is true: "if you don't measure it, you can't improve it." That's why the Air Force is adding high-tech meters at 80 installations to measure electricity, gas, steam and water. A $14.2 million contract was awarded today to Benchmark Construction Inc., teamed with Toltest, Inc., to provide a standardized advanced meter reading system at 40 installations. The Air Force plans to award the remaining 40 next year. The AMRS will manage utility data and provide critical information required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

The award comes after several years of research and effort by engineers at Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and the Air Force Civil Engineering, Resource Division, Information Technology Branch, Pentagon, Washington, D.C., in partnership with General Services Administration contracting .

"This AMRS award is a major step in providing a powerful energy-saving capability to base energy managers," said Ken Walters, Conservation Branch chief at AFCESA. "It also sets the stage for future integration with other systems."

Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. and Beale AFB, Calif., will be the first to receive AMRS. Work will begin in September and is scheduled for completion in December. The AMRS will be standardized across all 80 installations, using one of two configurations - energy management control systems or wireless communication. Holloman and Beale will serve as test bases for deploying the AMRS: Beale collects meter data using an EMCS, while Holloman collects dates using approved wireless communication.

In addition to Beale and Holloman, 38 bases will get the AMRS the first year and the remaining 40 the second year. The five-year contract includes design, installation of hardware and software, training, technical support, and system sustainment.

Walters says the AMRS may save the Air Force up to $25 million a year in utility costs, and provide energy staffs the information needed to ensure buildings are operating as efficiently as possible. The AMRS is not only capable of measuring energy consumption, but also provides near real-time utility information, identifies anomalies, flags buildings that are performing out of normal range, and forecasts future consumption-- all while eliminating the need to send someone out to read a meter.

The AMRS can be customized with base specific charts, graphs and gauges with real-time and historical meter data, and can provide reports, facility baselines and mock bills. The system can normalize for weather and collect stored data during a communication outage.

"For example, if a lightning strike causes a communication outage for an extended period of time, the AMRS has the ability to estimate the missing information, temporarily eliminating the data voids in your report," said Mike Ringenberg, AFCESA's meter program lead. "Once communication is restored, it can download stored data from the meter and overwrite the estimate if necessary. This feature significantly improves the quality of the data."