After a very successful ACA conference we've been busy reaching out to all the new friends we made during the conference. It's obvious that the idea of sustainability is catching on in corrections. Many of the exhibitors tout their "green" products and what they can do. We also noticed a number of new vendors or attendees that are new to corrections but bring singnificant sustainable technology to the market place.
We also want to thank our friends at I-CON, Energy Systems Group, and Solaris as well as the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents who supported our presence in Kissimmee and gave us a base from which to operate.
As we indicated at ACA, GreenPrisons will host a series of webinars September 20th, October 11th and November 9th. The first webinar will focus on the corporate side and provide some insight, particularly to new vendors, of the challenges and benefits of working with correctional agencies. These webinars are FREE and no special equipment is required. Registration is now available at www.greenprisons.org.
Planning has also begun for next year's symposium and while the date is still being finalized, we will be back in Indianapolis with a bigger and better event. If you attended this year but didn't go on the institutional tour you won't want to miss what our friends in the Indiana Department of Correction have in mind for next year. Watch the website and your email for the call for presenters and registration information which will be coming soon.
We continue to look for input from practitioners and providers about how we can make the site more useful to you. Leave your thoughts on this blog or send them to me directly at tommy@greenprisons.org
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Doing More with Less
On a mission to find out as much about energy savings in corrections as possible, we attended an ACA workshop on "Best Practices: A Review of Facilities" presented by Robert Schwartz, VP of the Justice Group at HOK, Inc., and Eric Hackman, Project Manager with Tower Pinkster. They reviewed three facility projects in three separate counties in Michigan and gave us project highlights including the energy savings established due to the new construction. Here are a few notes:
Midland County Jail:
The new Justice Complex added 30% more space to the building's footprint but created a 20% energy savings from $2.43 to $1.93 per square foot by using the following practices:
Midland County Jail:
- Created with a compact floor plan which encourages energy efficiency
- Designed with extensive day lighting to reduce the need for artificial lighting, saving electricity
- Installed a ground source heat pump
- Ozone laundry system, allowing cleaner laundry washed with cold water, reducing the demand for warm water
- Light harvesting - system automatically turns the electric lights off when a pre-determined amount of light is detected in a given space
- Design avoids inmate cells on the exterior wall, thus reducing the amount of energy needed to heat the cells in the winter
- Polished concrete floors can be cleaned with a wet mop, reducing the need for chemicals
- $185 annual energy costs
- $1.75 per square foot/year
- $740 per bed/year
- $57K annually in energy savings
- 25% savings of a "typical" building
The new Justice Complex added 30% more space to the building's footprint but created a 20% energy savings from $2.43 to $1.93 per square foot by using the following practices:
- Installed new "air handling" units
- High efficiency boilers
- Ozone laundry system
10 Trends in Detention Building Design
We ended the ACA conference with a workshop on "Best Practices: A Review of Facilities" where Larry Hartman, Vice President of HDR Architecture, Inc. gave a quick review of 10 trends that seem to be of paramount consideration in the development of a new dentition center.
1) Be a good neighbor - the facade and structure of a building should not be obtrusive or stand out in a community, but should fit the aesthetic already established.
2) Break out of the box - architects and builders should think about ways to create a building that goes beyond a box of concrete.
3) Use inexpensive materials to enhance the design of the building - even if they are inexpensive, the materials should be used in a way that creates a visually pleasing design.
4) Create pleasing public spaces - even though detention centers do not generally attract a large amount of public traffic, those spaces that are available to the public should be pleasant.
5) Clear organization and circulation - minimizes confusion in high risk situations and creates clear pathways of travel.
6) Find unique ways to handle multiple classifications - the most successful structures rise to the challenge of creating safe, livable space for a variety of offender classifications when called for.
7) Reduce the need for artificial light by including natural light in the design - use of view windows, skylights and clerestories help achieve this and help reduce energy consumption.
8) Inclusion of recreation space - a must for all facilities, the recreation space can vary by being indoor or outdoor, each coming with its own specific challenges.
9) Provide for direct supervision - increasingly, newly designed spaces need to be flexible to provide the opportunity for both direct and indirect supervision, taking into account all of the risk management factors for both inmates and staff.
10) Create a calming intake environment - as the offender's first experience with the institution, intake areas are more often being designed to create a more welcoming environment by using softer, though durable materials and incorporating natural light.
The job of the building designer is to meet the special needs of the detention facility through unique design.
1) Be a good neighbor - the facade and structure of a building should not be obtrusive or stand out in a community, but should fit the aesthetic already established.
2) Break out of the box - architects and builders should think about ways to create a building that goes beyond a box of concrete.
3) Use inexpensive materials to enhance the design of the building - even if they are inexpensive, the materials should be used in a way that creates a visually pleasing design.
4) Create pleasing public spaces - even though detention centers do not generally attract a large amount of public traffic, those spaces that are available to the public should be pleasant.
5) Clear organization and circulation - minimizes confusion in high risk situations and creates clear pathways of travel.
6) Find unique ways to handle multiple classifications - the most successful structures rise to the challenge of creating safe, livable space for a variety of offender classifications when called for.
7) Reduce the need for artificial light by including natural light in the design - use of view windows, skylights and clerestories help achieve this and help reduce energy consumption.
8) Inclusion of recreation space - a must for all facilities, the recreation space can vary by being indoor or outdoor, each coming with its own specific challenges.
9) Provide for direct supervision - increasingly, newly designed spaces need to be flexible to provide the opportunity for both direct and indirect supervision, taking into account all of the risk management factors for both inmates and staff.
10) Create a calming intake environment - as the offender's first experience with the institution, intake areas are more often being designed to create a more welcoming environment by using softer, though durable materials and incorporating natural light.
The job of the building designer is to meet the special needs of the detention facility through unique design.
"Know thyself..."
ACA Workshop: Energy Management & Conservation
Sunday's session on energy management was presented by Mike Brasovan, Executive VP at Rely Energy. Mr. Brasovan's presentation emphasized the need for institutions to collect data about their utility usage in order to create a baseline and benchmarks for comparison. Institutions tracking their information can compare themselves to similar size institutions to see if there are gaps in their efficient use of energy. By tracking this information over time facility managers can implement products and technologies to mitigate the expenses by seeking energy-saving best practices. In addition, understanding energy pricing and potentially available discounts can create more saving opportunities. Several states have "choice" programs where institutions can purchase natural gas and/or electricity from non-utility, "3rd party" suppliers at substantial discounts. Energy audits and Tariff Analysis are great ways to begin the process of saving money through energy efficiency. Know your data, look for discounts and subsidies, and control your energy usage.
Sunday's session on energy management was presented by Mike Brasovan, Executive VP at Rely Energy. Mr. Brasovan's presentation emphasized the need for institutions to collect data about their utility usage in order to create a baseline and benchmarks for comparison. Institutions tracking their information can compare themselves to similar size institutions to see if there are gaps in their efficient use of energy. By tracking this information over time facility managers can implement products and technologies to mitigate the expenses by seeking energy-saving best practices. In addition, understanding energy pricing and potentially available discounts can create more saving opportunities. Several states have "choice" programs where institutions can purchase natural gas and/or electricity from non-utility, "3rd party" suppliers at substantial discounts. Energy audits and Tariff Analysis are great ways to begin the process of saving money through energy efficiency. Know your data, look for discounts and subsidies, and control your energy usage.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Energy Savings with an ESCO
We started this morning off right with a session on "Energy Savings, Operational Efficiencies Reinvested into Facility Upgrades".
Energy Performance Contracting is a complex process, and this session, presented by ESCO Johnson Controls, helped identify the key points of an energy audit by citing examples of their work with the Virginia Department of Corrections. Johnson Controls emphasized the benefits of making comprehensive changes to an institution instead of piece-mealing the various solutions.
The largest potential savings lie in the areas of Lighting, Space Heating and Space Cooling. In addition, water costs are on the rise - specifically sewer costs. By retrofitting older water systems and insulating pipes, institutions save money on energy as well as water usage. ESCOs provide a guarantee of energy savings making sure that the investment has a long-term ROI.
One of the more interesting examples of reducing water usage was an electronic shut off system so that inmates cannot abuse the system by multiple and continuous flushes. By installing this system, the toilet will shut down and eliminate the ability for the inmate to flush if the system detects a certain number of flushes in a specified time frame saving the institution thousands of gallons per inmate.
Creating a comprehensive approach, Johnson Controls has also created a "HVAC Learning Lab" so that inmates can be trained on the maintenance of the new systems. The most important thing to note about the Learning Lab is that it was built and supported solely through the savings created by installing the energy saving systems.
The bottom line of savings is documented over time by a variety of methodologies including utility bill comparison. The ESCO is responsible for ensuring and guaranteeing the energy savings.
Sound bites:
Energy Performance Contracting is a complex process, and this session, presented by ESCO Johnson Controls, helped identify the key points of an energy audit by citing examples of their work with the Virginia Department of Corrections. Johnson Controls emphasized the benefits of making comprehensive changes to an institution instead of piece-mealing the various solutions.
The largest potential savings lie in the areas of Lighting, Space Heating and Space Cooling. In addition, water costs are on the rise - specifically sewer costs. By retrofitting older water systems and insulating pipes, institutions save money on energy as well as water usage. ESCOs provide a guarantee of energy savings making sure that the investment has a long-term ROI.
One of the more interesting examples of reducing water usage was an electronic shut off system so that inmates cannot abuse the system by multiple and continuous flushes. By installing this system, the toilet will shut down and eliminate the ability for the inmate to flush if the system detects a certain number of flushes in a specified time frame saving the institution thousands of gallons per inmate.
Creating a comprehensive approach, Johnson Controls has also created a "HVAC Learning Lab" so that inmates can be trained on the maintenance of the new systems. The most important thing to note about the Learning Lab is that it was built and supported solely through the savings created by installing the energy saving systems.
The bottom line of savings is documented over time by a variety of methodologies including utility bill comparison. The ESCO is responsible for ensuring and guaranteeing the energy savings.
Sound bites:
- Energy Performance Contracting will be a $5 Billion industry in 2011
- Savings must be sufficient to cover the costs
- Executive level buy in is essential - in VA, the governor issued orders that ensured that any energy savings would be returned to the institution and not back to the general fund.
- Energy Performance Contracting is about "Risk Management"
- Including any training costs in the estimate is essential
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Greetings from the 141st Congress of ACA
We just rolled into the ACA Congress this afternoon and already have had the opportunity to talk with former KY DOC Commissioner of Corrections John Rees and representatives of Portion Pac chemicals.
One of our goals this week at the conference is to expand the involvement of Jails in the accreditation process by providing training and technical assistance to initiate the process. Much of this effort will focus around the control of toxics, caustics and flammables.
Tomorrow we are scheduled to meet with a number of current and former commissioners/directors to learn how Greenprisons can support/contribute to sustainable efforts in corrections.
Watch for more updates from Portion Pac, Solaris, ESG, Johnson Controls and ICON in the coming days.
Let us know what you would like to know about what is going on at ACA this summer
One of our goals this week at the conference is to expand the involvement of Jails in the accreditation process by providing training and technical assistance to initiate the process. Much of this effort will focus around the control of toxics, caustics and flammables.
Tomorrow we are scheduled to meet with a number of current and former commissioners/directors to learn how Greenprisons can support/contribute to sustainable efforts in corrections.
Watch for more updates from Portion Pac, Solaris, ESG, Johnson Controls and ICON in the coming days.
Let us know what you would like to know about what is going on at ACA this summer
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