The Department of Defense (DoD) Installation Energy Test Bed sought solutions to improve the management of buildings with respect to moisture control and the negative impacts of moisture infiltration. The DoD owns and operates thousands of buildings in hot-humid climates with a variety of building vintages, designs and installed heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. When issues associated with moisture infiltration are identified, root cause analysis can be conducted and solutions developed to mitigate the problem. However, this reactionary approach can result in higher maintenance costs for the building, damage to sensitive materials and poor indoor air quality for occupants. ESTCP sought proposals for studies and/or demonstration projects that helped identify and prioritize investment in preventative and corrective interventions to reduce the negative health and economic impacts of moisture infiltration in DoD buildings.

Of particular interest were studies and demonstrations that addressed the following issues:

• Understanding of the scale of the moisture control problem within DoD owned and operated buildings and actions taken to date. Include DoD and other organizations (e.g., ASHRAE) as relevant in the analysis.
• Efficient approaches to identifying, prioritizing and implementing mitigation measures that align with and leverage current facility investment mechanisms and auditing and retrocommissioning processes.
• Innovative solutions to monitor relative humidity and prevent moisture infiltration.
• Technologies and solutions that can be implemented through performance contracts.

Analyses and technologies focused on privatized housing were not of interest and were considered non-responsive to the solicitation.

The following projects were funded in 2022. Project overviews will appear below as they are posted to the website.

• Moisture Control Technology Applications for DoD Buildings in Hot-Humid Climates
  • Principal Investigator: Michael West, Advantek Consulting, Inc.
• Demonstration of a Liquid Desiccant Based Dedicated Outdoor Air System
  • Principal Investigator: Eric Kozubal, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Integrating Moisture Vulnerability and Monitoring Prioritization into Existing DoD Building Stock Sustainment Management
  • Principal Investigator: Margaret Kurth, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center