Correctional Facility Energy Savings Project

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

In August of 2015, the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office conducted an experiment to see if the air being brought into the building by the HVAC intake system on the roof could be cooled down. A five gallon container of white rubberized roofing sealant was purchased and inmate labor was utilized to paint over the area of the roof directly under the air intake ducts. The entire roof is a black rubber membrane and is part of the original design. Prior to applying the sealant, a temperature gage was used to get the temperature on the untreated roof. It was 179 degrees. After the sealant was applied to the test area the temperature was taken again. The temperature in the same area was now 121 degrees. This indicated to us that it was possible to substantially decrease the temperature of the air being taken into the units and into the building.