Warren looks to decentralize heat Published Aug. 8, 2011 By Staff Sgt. Mike Tryon 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- Warren's civil engineer squadron is looking to replace its more than 30-year-old centralized heat system with a decentralized system in Fiscal Year 2012. By decentralizing heat, Air Force Global Strike Command's premier ICBM wing will save on energy and the money used to replace the high temperature water lines. "Once funded, the project is scheduled to take two years to complete, and should pay for itself in about seven-and-a-half years," said Elizabeth McClain, 90th Civil Engineer Squadron secretary. The current, centralized system is branched. That means if one building lost heat, every building attached to it would also lose heat. By decentralizing heat, each building will have its own source, minimizing the loss of heat. "Only about half the heat from the gas entering the heat plant gets to the buildings," said Kenneth Johnston, 90th Civil Engineer Squadron mechanical engineer. "Seventeen percent [of the heat] is lost during combustion in the heat plant, and 33 percent is lost in the hot-water lines." Boriel Aviation has the contract for the current system, McClain said. It's CE's hope that the current contractors will be able to keep their positions as civilian employees or contractors for this new contract. Many of the buildings are going to be fitted with gas-fired boilers, Johnston said. However, there are also going to be several other systems. Each new system installed will have a life-cycle of about 20 years before needing to be replaced.