States that at Fort Polk, Louisiana, the space conditioning systems of 4003 housing units have been converted to geothermal heat pumps under an energy savings performance contract. At the same time, other energy efficiency measures such as fluorescent lights, low-flow shower heads and attic insulation were installed. An independent evaluation indicates that the project has resulted in a 25.6 million kWh savings in electrical energy use, or 32.4% of the pre-retrofit electricity consumption in family housing. Peak electrical demand has been reduced by 6,761 kW, 40.2% or pre-retrofit peak demand. Natural gas savings are about 260,000 therms per year. The Army has been able to cap future expenditure for family housing HVAC maintenance at about 77% of its previous costs. Outlines the method by which the contract was engineered and implemented. Notes these are 'apparent' energy savings observed in the monitored data and not 'contracted' savings used as the basis for payments.

Units: I-P

KEYWORDS: year 1997, Case studies, USA, housing, energy conservation, energy management, contracts, economics, heat pumps, soil, housing, maintenance, geothermal energy