DOE-Defense Program's CFC Retrofit Plan for HVAC/Chillers

Abstract

The Departmen t of Energ y' s (DO E) Office of Defense Pro grams
(DP) is responsible for the research, developmen t, and testing of defense-
related applications of nucl ear energy and the ope ration and mainte-
nance of facilities required to suppo rt thes e efforts alon g w ith an y asso -
ciated produ ction acti vities . DP had been the landlord for hundred s of
individual facilities located at principally eight sites ar ound the United
Stat es, representing about 50 percent of DOE's cap ital asset s. In 1994, DP
es tablished a CFC HV AC /Chiller Retrofit Program to facilitate the re-
placem ent and retrofit of chillers and to prom ote comp liance w ith CFC
environme n tal and ener gy conse rvation laws and regul ation s.
Throu gh comprehen sive inv entor ies, DP found that it owns ap-
pro xim at ely 200 old and inefficient CFC ch iller s, whi ch if replaced,
would greatl y reduce electricity con sump tion and costs, and r educe ex-
po sure to potential non-compliance wit h refrigeran t leak regulation s.
The major domes tic chiller manufacturers indica te that they are produc-
ing at or near full capacity to meet the d emands of both gov ernment and
private sector cus tomers. With estimates of a ppro ximately 63,000 chillers
nati on ally op era ting wi th CFCs, DP is concerned that m ark et pr ess ure
will raise prices and that shop space for future order s wi ll bec ome in-
creasingly scarce.