The U.S. Army Reserve and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are conducting 10 pilot programs and demonstrations to enhance the efficiency of the service branch’s facilities and infrastructure.
B.T. Collins Army Reserve Center, Arden Hills U.S. Army Reserve Complex in Minnesota, and Fort McCoy in Wisconsin are some of the military installations involved in projects ranging from climate resilience to water conservation, the Army Reserve announced Monday.
B.T. Collins is working with the 63rd Readiness Division to test the potential of a substance called phase change material to boost thermal mass in buildings. The team, which began its study in 2017, has expanded the project into a testbed for heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
The Environmental Security Technology Certification Program funded three of the 10 pilots focused on the use of machine learning to improve the functionality of the branch’s Enterprise Building Control System.
Meanwhile, Fort McCoy’s energy management staff are exploring a rapid deployment hybrid microgrid that combines natural gas and captured waste heat to create a heat and power turn-key system for buildings.
“The results of these demonstrations and pilots are key in addressing the potential challenges we face – whether it be from manmade cyber attacks or the effects of climate change and increasing natural disasters,” said Col. Martin Naranjo, director of the Army Reserve Installation Management Directorate.