Rickenbacker Air National Guard Case Study

Rickenbacker Air National Guard

During a site visit to the 121st Air Refueling Wing in Columbus, Ohio to review an infrared application for a small receiving area, Ambirad’s representative noticed two large hangars on the airfield. When asked how those buildings were heated the commanding officer responded, “it has radiant heat already but it doesn’t work.” Knowing that the ideal method of heating any aircraft hangar was infrared heating, the officer and Ambirad’s representative immediately reviewed the installation in those buildings. Upon inspection it was found that the type of equipment installed utilized low radiant output linear units not ideally suited for the extreme heights presented by an aviation application. Complaints from occupants and maintenance personnel ran from; “it can’t keep up when it gets real cold,” to, “when it rains outside it rains inside because of all of the roof penetrations.”

Each building had sixty two 150,000 btu standard efficiency tube heaters supplied by a different manufacture. Even though the customer complained that the system as currently configured couldn’t heat the space, Ambirad replaced the system with 49 of their VSX series 140,000 btu units. That’s a 26% decrease in total input! It was also decided to utilize a manifolded system and vent through the sidewall, thus eliminating 100% of the 22 roof penetrations per building! Other systems that boast high radiant efficiencies are not suited for venting to the exterior. They require leaving open flames and products of combustion, including moisture, in the space. This centainly isn’t the optimum condition for any building. The end result was a documented 30%+ energy savings with recovery times reduced by 70%. They are maintaining a higher temperature set point than before and are now comfortable and the space is dry.

Needless to say the Air National Guard is delighted with the performance. Since the success at Rickenbacker many additional military sites have followed suit with this state of the art technology. The thought process that all radiant systems are created equal is a thing of the past. New technology has proven that buildings currently heated by infrared systems are prime candidates for energy reduction and aggressive returns on investment. The performance of radiant heating has been taken to another level and it remains critical that the correct system is applied properly for the optimum result. Which is why it is important to engage the factory when faced with a challenging design. The technology of the VSX system leaves traditional equipment including two stage and modulating unit performance in the dust. When properly engineered the Ambirad VSX system truly has no equal.

Mansfield Air National Guard: The High Efficiency Heating Solution

When Mansfield Air National Guard decided to  replace it's inefficient direct fired make up air system, in it's aircraft hangars, it looked to infrared. After specifying a traditional series burner system they recognized the importance of maximizing the radiant efficiency and chose to install Ambirad's VSX series high bay manifolded system. Although the base design would provide great savings over the make up air system, the VSX series with its dual canopy reflectors and ultra high efficiency burner made more sense in this application. They also incorporated the Smartcom control package offered exclusively by Ambirad.

VSX Heaters Installed at Kalitta Air Hangar, Oscoda.

Forty Four of Ambirad's revolutionary VSX infrared tube heaters have been installed in two Kalitta Air's Hangars at Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport, replacing their old inefficient direct fired make up air heating system 

The gas fired VSX radiant tube heaters, controlled by AmbiRad's SmartCom controller, which allows the heaters to operate at as a high low system.  The calculated payback on this project was an impressive 3 years.

Revolutionary Radiant Tube Heaters Installed at Rickenbacker Air National Guard (Update).

AmbiRad's state of the art gas fired radiant heating system that has now been installed at Rickenbacker AFB for 18 months.  The installation comprises ninety four VSX radiant tube heaters connected together in a herringbone system, the heating system is controlled using the bases building management system
The features of this heating system are:

• Patented high efficiency heaters.
• System HiLo maximizes the energy savings while ensuring optimum efficiency is maintained at low fire

The verified energy savings on the two aircraft hangars is 30%, this is even more impressive as the system we replaced was a traditional gas fired radiant heating system.  The Air National Guard are delighted with the performance, as along with the energy savings they are also reporting better levels of comfort.

Heating Little Rock AFB Air Hangars

When faced with the challenges associated with finding the highest efficiency systems for today’s aircraft hangars, gas fired overhead infrared has no equal. Following is an article published in the US Air Forces own engineering magazine. Since the installation of this system AmbiRad has introduced even higher efficiency radiant tube heaters for these high bay applications. Increasing energy savings by even greater amounts. Please review what the Air Force has found through their own results and let us help you take advantage of this ever improving technology in your facility. This article was published in Air Force Civil Engineer Vol 16/3, 2008.

The InfraRed Heating Advantage

Mr. Thomas A. Adams, P.E., HQ AFCESA/CEN 1 Lt Ryan C. Miller, 314 CES/CEX

The Air Force Infrastructure Energy Strategic Plan requires the Air Force to use less energy as well as use energy more efficiently. Infrared heat may be the most effective method of heating large-volume industrial spaces such as warehouses, maintenance bays, and hangars.

These facilities typically have a high energy footprint (BTU/Sq Ft) due to large infiltration loads, vehicle access requirements, poor insulation, and high ceilings. Here, forced-air heatingsystems are neither efficient nor effective at providing a uniform 55°F wintertime work environment for occupants.

How IR Works
About 53% of the solar energy striking the earth is in the IR spectrum, which is just above visible light (wavelength> 0.7 μm). This is the energy that heats the inside of your car even though the outside temperature may be cool. The sun heats the car which, in turn, transfers heat to the air inside. Infrared heating systems work in a similar manner.

The typical IR heating system consists of a burner, a combustion tube, zone thermostats, and a controller(below). Reflectors may be added for directional heating and to protect potentially flammable surfaces, such as wooden roofs. Thermostatic feedback through the controller maintains set-point temperature within the facility.

In contrast, to satisfy heating demand, forced air systems heat the air, pump it into a space, and rely on the energyintensive process of convective air-to-object heat transfer.  IR heat bypasses the air transfer medium, thereby improving heat transfer efficiency. Because large air handlers, pumps, water control loops, and heat exchangers are eliminated, IR heating systems are desirable from a maintenance perspective as well. IR heat is directional, with reflectors focusing energy toward a target area. When properly installed, IR heating eliminates cold spots in largevolume facilities. Because infrared heat warms like the sun, occupants feel more comfortable at lower set-point temperatures.
Since IR systems do not heat air directly, they are not subject to air stratification. They are also less affected by open doors and high infiltration or air exchange rates.

Actual Performance
Little Rock AFB, Ark., demonstrated the effectiveness of IR heat systems by installing them in three large volume facilities, including Bldg 250, a 152,000-square foot jumbo hangar.  After the retrofit, the average MBTUs of natural gas used for winter heating dropped from 21,080 to 11,240, a 44% reduction when corrected for weather effects. Based on FY05 natural gas rates ($7.63 per MBTU), this project was estimated to provide the base an attractive 7.8 year payback.  With FY07 rates at $9.80 per MBTU, the payback is now down to about 6 years. IR heat has the potential to significantly reduce the high energy footprint of large Air Force industrial facilities and help meet Executive Order 13423 energy goals. It is recommended that all installations with conventional heating in large volume industrial facilities consider IR heat retrofits as replacements.

Mr. Adams, a support contractor at the Air Force Facility Energy Center, HQ AFCESA, Tyndall AFB, Fla.,is a professional engineer. 1Lt Miller was formerly the Chief, Maintenance Engineering, 314th CES, Little Rock AFB, Ark.; he is currently the squadron’s Readiness and Emergency Management Flight Chief.