KITSAP – One of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest missions is to ensure that naval installations in the Puget Sound region become more energy efficient and sustainable while maintaining or improving working conditions for employees.

At Naval Base Kitsap, an energy competition that challenged tenant occupants in certain buildings to reduce their energy consumption is wrapping up. The competition has heightened tenants’ awareness of energy and produced documented energy savings.

Also, NBK replaced its 2,300-volt high-intensity discharge street light fixtures with light-emitting diode fixtures that use 480 volts. The wiring was also upgraded from serial lines for all the HID lights to independent circuits for each LED light.

The Navy is also working to improve the heating, ventilating and air conditioning system in Building 850 in Bremerton. The upgrade will optimize the way conditioned air is distributed throughout the building and improve employee comfort.

On Naval Magazine Indian Island, a design for a water source heat pump is 90 percent complete. This project will use the water of Puget Sound as a renewable heat source for the waterfront operations building.

Projects at at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island will connect existing building control systems to a central regional system located on Bangor for easier management of energy.

Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport and Naval Station Everett are updating heating and cooling systems in several buildings.

The projects allow the bases to meet and exceed the Department of the Navy Energy goals. Each naval installation has exceeded the required 30 percent reduction by 2015 some installations have reduced energy consumption by 34 to 40 percent. Saving energy conserves resources and helps the Navy to become independent of fossil fuels.

– Edited by Chris Tucker.