As a task order modification to the initial ESPC, the RRBITC electrification project leverages funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, an Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) grant, and savings produced by the facility improvements implemented under the ESPC will make the RRBITC the government’s first fully electric building.

Johnson Controls will implement innovative heat pump technology and supplemental electric boilers to eliminate the RRBITC’s dependency on the natural gas-powered district steam plant, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2,242 metric tons annually, and energy consumption by 8.7% annually. When combined with the savings produced by the ESPC deep energy retrofits, the RRBITC will save more than $6.2 million in annual utility cost and reduce GHG emissions by 15,944 metric tons and energy consumption by 47.8%.

When used as the primary heating source, heat pumps are more efficient than boilers as they “move heat” yielding more energy output than input. The heat pump chiller produces hot water as a byproduct of the chilled water it produces to support the building’s cooling needs. Heat that is normally rejected to the atmosphere as part of the cooling process is recovered and used to heat the building (42°F chilled water with simultaneous 170°F heating water).