Fort Carson in Colorado is a Net Zero Energy Installation (NZEI) which means that they aim to produces as much energy on-site from renewable sources as they consume with their buildings and facilities. With 39% of their energy being used for natural gas heating, focusing on thermal load reduction is essential.
Fort Carson; Net Zero Energy Base
Year: 2019
Location: Colorado, USA
USA Military
In the 2011 report entitled: “Targeting Net Zero Energy at Fort Carson: Assessment and Recommendations” prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), the use of the SolarWall solar ventilation preheating technology is analyzed: “Solar vent preheat works very well in the Front Range’s cold, sunny climate on buildings with large ventilation requirements. It is most often used on industrial buildings with open indoor space & high ventilation requirements, including hangars, maintenance shops and gymnasiums.”
Background
Fort Carson was home to the very first military SolarWall® installation on a hangar building, circa 1996. Since that time, SolarWall air heating systems have been applied to hundreds of military buildings on 40+ bases for energy resilience. Fort Carson is now designated as a Net Zero Energy Base, and SolarWall systems continue to be applied to base buildings at Fort Carson to help achieve that target.
Solution
New buildings at Fort Carson must meet a minimum LEED® Silver standard as part of their commitment to being a Net Zero Energy Installation. Most recently, SolarWall heating systems were installed on two new base buildings that were targeting LEED® Certification. The Fort Carson Assault Hangar features a 7,800 ft2 (725m2) SolarWall system that is connected to 3 ERVs, heating 15,000 cfm of air. The Fort Carson Unmanned Aircraft Maintenance Hangar has multiple SolarWall systems on the south and west walls, heating 8,000 cmf of ventilation air.
SolarWall Case Study – Fort Carson Net Zero Base(PDF)
