Altus Air Force Base turns up the heat

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Megan E. Acs
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. - As temperatures begin to drop, the 97th Civil Engineer Squadron has taken the call to turn up the heat. The 97th CES is responsible for two annual heating, ventilation, and air conditioning changeovers and began their preparations for the winter changeover in October. They performed preoperational inspections of heating equipment including maintenance of pumps, water lines and air handling equipment, to verify it all works properly.

"The summer to winter changeover begins roughly around late October and runs through mid-December. There is no specific date," said Master Sgt. Joe Tison, 97th CES NCO in charge of the HVAC shop. "We watch the weather closely and we compare that to historical weather trends to determine the best time to make the changeover."

There are three phases associated with the summer to winter changeover.

The first phase is activating all the four-pipe systems on base. During this phase, two of the four pipes that run through a building will be set to cooling, and two will be set to heating. This will provide a smoother transition for when all four are changed to heat.

Phase two involves verification that all Occupant Controlled Systems are working properly. This means that systems with thermostats will be checked to ensure everything is in working order.

"Our occupants very rarely even know that we're in phase one or phase two because the four pipe system allows us to operate heating and cooling at the same time. So in the mornings if it's cold, we can add heat to the building, and in the afternoons if it's hot, we can cool the building," said Tison. "All of your new, modernized facilities have four pipe systems."

Phase three is the most dramatic switch, where all buildings with only two pipes will transition at once, changing from cold to hot with no transition phase between the two temperatures. CES monitors the weather and works closely with the dorm and billeting managers to determine the best time to make the switch.

Phase three is also the area of biggest concern to the switchover since it is the most dramatic change, and the biggest issue is typically with the dorms, most of which have only two pipe systems.

"The reason we don't keep the four pipe systems running both hot and cold at the same time is to save energy," said Tison. "There's almost never a need for heating during the summer, so we shut those boilers down in an effort to conserve energy. And the same is true during the winter."

"Ninety percent of the base will not even know that we're changing over, but if residents have questions concerning their facility, they should contact their facility manager," said Tison.

Once the change occurs, it takes a great deal of effort to change back, so the switchover will not occur until the weather makes it absolutely necessary, in an attempt to keep everyone as comfortable as possible, for as long as possible.