
Data collection takes place for CERDEC’s Innovative Cooling Equipment program, which aims to reduce the electrical energy required to produce cooling and heating for forward bases as well as Brigade and below environmental requirements, during a demonstration at the Base Camp Integration Lab at Fort Devens, Massachusetts July 7-31, 2015. (U.S. Army photo by Allison Barrow)
By Jeffrey Sisto (NSRDEC) and Allison Barrow (CERDEC)
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — When you need to charge a cell phone or turn on the lights, the power is typically there. You most likely don’t have to wonder how you’ll get it or how long you’ll have it.
But for Soldiers at small base camps in forward operational environments, being able to harness and maintain power is essential for operating effectively. The better they’re able to manage available power and energy, the less they have to rely on resupply convoys to bring more fuel and batteries, driving up costs, taking Soldiers away from other missions, and risking lives in the process.
The Secretary of the Army, the Army Chief of Staff, and the Sergeant Major of the Army made effective energy solutions a top priority, and the Army has a number of initiatives to make base camps more energy efficient by enabling Soldiers to not only maintain power for longer, but to intelligently control power distribution. The aim is to decrease the power draw and more smartly manage the use of available power, limiting the number of resupply convoys needed.
The Army demonstrated a number of these integrated capabilities at the Base Camp Integration Lab at Fort Devens, Massachusetts July 7-31, with the overall goal of reducing fuel, water and waste at small base camps.