That's why Epps was thrilled to form a partnership with Buffalo Grove, Ill.-based Siemens Building Technologies Inc., a relationship that hopes to save the Mississippi Department of Corrections more than $6 million worth of energy and operational costs over a 15-year span. The partnership, formed through what is known as a performance contract, will incorporate efficient lighting systems, a new energy-management system, and even a laundry system that consumes far less power and hot water than do more traditional versions.

The best news of all for the prison system? When the energy and operational savings of the agreement are factored in, these upgrades to three of the state's busiest jails and a host of the department's smaller facilities won't cost the Mississippi Department of Corrections a thing. That's because of the performance contract signed by the department and Siemens both. Such agreements allow customers to purchase a systems upgrade that pays for itself over time with no up-front costs. The savings in energy and operating costs—in this case, $430,000 a year for the Mississippi Department of Corrections at current energy prices—fund the building improvements and financing costs over a specific term. The savings are guaranteed on an annual basis.

For Epps, any partnership that will help his department upgrade its facilities without the hassles of asking for bonds or tax increases is a good one.

“We have been having some serious budget problems in this state since 1999,” Epps says. “This partnership has allowed the department of corrections to upgrade several facets of our prison system that we would not have been able to do if we had not established this partnership first. We are still having growth in our prison population, even if the budget is not keeping up. The needs, then, are still there. Everything is getting more expensive. When you can find cost savings like these, you have to take advantage of them.”

The upgrades aren't exactly free, but they do feel that way to Epps. The Mississippi Department of Corrections is financing the upgrades over a 15-year period through an outside source, much like buyers obtaining mortgage loans to help them pay off new homes. Siemens gets paid by the department's financing source.

Meanwhile, the savings that Siemens has guaranteed will be more than enough to pay off the $5.1 million in loans the state's department of corrections has taken out to pay for the upgrades. During the 15-year term of the performance contract, Siemens has guaranteed the department energy and operational savings of more than $11 million in total, Epps said. Subtract $5.1 million from that figure, and you get the $6 million in guaranteed savings available directly to the department over the life of the contract.

And if these savings for some reason don't materialize? Then Siemens owes the department of corrections.

“This is a terrific arrangement for us,” Epps said. “It allows us to keep up with the latest technology, even when we're broke. And with budgets being as tight as they are, you can't overestimate just how important that is.”

Amy Smith, sales engineer for Siemens Building Technologies, said the performance-contract model has helped numerous public and private entities pay for upgrades and new technology that otherwise would prove out of their reach.

“Performance contracting is a funding mechanism that allows a customer to replace end-of-life equipment with new higher efficiency equipment paid for by the reduction in both energy and operational costs,” Smith said. “The Mississippi Department of Corrections is continuously looking for opportunities to reduce costs. Siemens approached the department with a project that could significantly reduce energy usage and costs in their facilities.”

A Big Project
The partnership between Siemens and the department of corrections began in May of 2005, and the upgrades it includes were scheduled to take eight months to complete.

Siemens will upgrade existing lighting to higher efficiency versions in three state prisons: Mississippi State Penitentiary, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and South Mississippi Correctional Institute. Siemens will also improve lighting systems at 17 community work centers and three restitution centers.

The DOC's performance contract is a first for the state of Mississippi.

The improved lighting will become an important source of savings for the department. Siemens estimates that the higher-efficiency lighting it will install in the facilities will consume 42% less energy than did the buildings' current lighting systems.

Siemens will also install an energy-management control system designed to improve the efficiency of the heating, ventilation and climate control equipment in the three state prisons. A new ozone recirculating laundry system will provide reductions in the amount of hot and total water that the prisons use.

Finally, Siemens will replace an old 80-ton chiller that is near the end of its life span with a newer, more efficient chiller of the same size. The replacement of old equipment such as this serves two purposes: Not only do the new models run more efficiently, thus saving the department a significant amount of money, they also need fewer repairs and less maintenance.

The department of corrections would not be able to consider any of these upgrades if not for the unique performance contract its officials inked with Siemens.

Even though the Mississippi Department of Corrections is the first agency in that state to sign a performance contract, Smith said, she expects such contracts to become even more common as a growing number of public bodies struggle to gain adequate funding. Officials at these agencies will embrace anything that results in savings, and performance contracts, with their ability to eliminate up-front costs, certainly fit this description.

“Performance contracts will be more commonly used in the future as public and private entities look for innovative ways to reduce energy usage and operational costs,” Smith said.

Epps agreed, saying that this probably won't be the last time his agency or other state agencies follow a similar model.

“This joint partnership, I think, will serve as a model for other departments throughout Mississippi,” Epps said. “With the budget problems we face, and that other states face, everyone has to be more creative. I'm excited that we are presenting this model to other state departments, and I hope they have success, too, forming their own partnerships.”

In-Depth Savings
The savings in energy bills are undeniably impressive. Smith says they come mostly from two sources: First, Siemens' plans called for the installation of higher-efficiency equipment on both the lighting and HVAC sides. By replacing the facilities' old, less-efficient systems, savings occur almost automatically.

Second, Siemens also recommended that the department of corrections install a building-automation system that monitors temperatures throughout the facilities and adjusts them according to how hot or cold the specific areas are at any given time. The system also allows prison officials to program the desired temperature of any given space in the facilities, depending on when people will be using them. This means the facilities do not need, say, to keep a workout room warm during the middle of the night when it is not being used.

The system allows prison officials to program the desired temperature of any given space in the facilities.

To reduce the lighting bills at the facilities, Siemens called for the retrofit of the prisons' old T12 lamps that used magnetic ballasts, replacing them with new 32-watt T8 lamps that use electronic ballasts. This ballast is specifically designed to operate lamps at a lower current. Best of all, electronic ballasts don't flicker or hum, and they use less power than do magnetic ballasts. Electronic ballasts operate fluorescent lamps at frequencies of 20 kilohertz and up, far higher than the standard 60 Hz frequency at which magnetic ballasts operate lamps. Siemens estimates that this retrofitting alone will save the Mississippi Department of Corrections $300,000 a year.

The energy-management system is another source of big savings for the department. The department will now be using a Siemens Apogee building automation system. Siemens staffers trained Mississippi Department of Corrections personnel on the proper use of the system. Department workers, then, can now use the system to monitor and control the heating and climate-control equipment at their facilities, scheduling the operating hours of these systems based on what areas of their facilities are being used throughout the day.

Smith said the reduction of runtime that results will save the department of corrections an additional $40,000 each year.

Just as important is the installation of a new ozone recalculating laundry system. Ozone is quickly becoming the oxidant of choice in large laundry facilities. The reason for the switch from traditional oxidizers such as chlorine? Mainly it's because of the drastic reduction in energy costs that results from the reduction of hot water that ozone systems use.

Because ozone cleansing works best in cold water, the prisons will have to expend less energy heating water for their laundry facilities. Ozone cleansing also uses a smaller amount of water because it is powerful enough to get materials clean in fewer rinse cycles. Ozone destroys bacteria, viruses and cysts far easier than do traditional oxidizers. Smith says that the reduction in natural gas costs resulting from the switch to an ozone-based system will bring savings of more than $80,000 a year to the prison system.

As a final upgrade, Siemens recommended updating an old 80-ton air-cooled reciprocating chiller at the South Mississippi Correctional Institute, a machine that is nearing the end of its useful life, replacing it with a new 80-ton, air-cooled, scroll chiller. The new chiller has an Integrated Part Load Value, or IPLV, of 14.2. This is far more efficient than the old chiller, which had an IPLV rating of 10.2. IPLV ratings measure the efficiency of air conditioners under a variety of conditions.

The project with the Mississippi Department of Corrections is far from the only time Siemens has worked to improve the energy-efficiency of a client's building. This is, in fact, what Siemens does. As a provider of building controls, fire safety and security system products, Siemens Building Technologies focuses on improving the performance of its customers' buildings, cutting down on the energy and operational costs of the facilities.

In 2005, for instance, Siemens and the Millburn Township public school system in New Jersey completed a long-term construction project that will tens of thousands of dollars in energy and maintenance costs each year.

The energy management of all 200 classrooms, offices and utility spaces in Millburn's seven schools is now controlled and monitored remotely from a single personal computer located at Millburn Middle School. The new electronic heating and ventilation control system replaces a mechanical system that is similar to those still used by most schools across New Jersey and the northeastern states.

Tony Gorelov, buildings director for the district, estimates that the new system, which cost $300,000 to install, has saved the district $80,000 during the past year.

Siemens again turned to its Apogee building automation system for the Millburn project. The system uses Microsoft Windows technology to monitor environmental conditions over a fiber optic network interface. A network of thousands of sensors and miniature devices that regulate temperature, humidity and ventilation in the individual spaces they serve provides the heating and cooling throughout the school system.

For his part, Epps is thrilled with the early results of his department's partnership with Siemens. Before workers installed the energy-management control system that monitors and regulates temperatures at the three state prisons, Epps could drive up to any one of the facilities on a Saturday morning and see a common sight:

“It'd be so foggy I couldn't see through the windows,” Epps said. “The reason for that was that somebody had lowered that thermostat too low. With these energy-management control systems, which control the time of day schedule and function, this can no longer happen. The staff can't get to it. It's all automated.”

A good daily example of how this works takes place when prison guards shut down the state's maximum-security prison at 6 p.m. The energy-management control system sends the temperature up to 77 degrees. In the morning, at about 6 a.m., the thermostat automatically begins adjusting and goes down to 75 degrees. This may not seem like a major adjustment—it is only 2 degrees, after all—but Epps says the impact on the bottom line is surprisingly large.

“It's amazing how much that saves during the year,” he said. “It's amazing the difference you can make during a year just by taking these small steps.”

DAN RAFTER is a technical writer based in Chesterton, IN.

DE - March/April 2006