LOUISVILLE, Ky. –
The 123rd Airlift Wing’s recently dedicated Response Forces Facility features new air handling technology that can reduce energy use by up to 36 percent while improving air quality for occupants.
All buildings introduce fresh air using Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems. The DOAS that has been installed in the Response Forces Facility is a very sophisticated type of roof mounted air-handling unit.
According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, a well-designed DOAS can ventilate a building at low cost, reduce overall building energy use and improve indoor environmental quality.
The wing’s new DOAS achieves dehumidification as a first step; outdoor air is drawn across coils that take the moisture out of the air by condensing it on the cold elements. The DOAS then modifies the incoming air with an “energy wheel” that scavenges heat in the winter and cooling in summer before distributing the conditioned air inside the building. The exhausted air completes the circuit.
A DOAS has several advantages, including improved air quality and reduced carbon dioxide levels in the interior space. Filtration is the key and consistent maintenance item. The system distributes fresh air into areas that need it and is a big source of energy savings.
At the Response Forces Facility, the wing can look forward to the highly efficient occupation of its latest addition, which was dedicated in July.