Texas Department of Criminal Justice

PROGRESS REPORT

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), as part of the plan, puts together a list of energy conservation related projects currently in progress and future planned projects. Additionally, an employee awareness pamphlet has been developed to create a positive mindset for all employees. The pamphlet emphasizes the importance of energy consumption reduction awareness and how everyone's actions can make a difference. Regional directors receive monthly consumption and consumption cost savings reports for each unit within their region. The agency's consumption and comparison updates for fiscal year 2024 are provided in the tables below.

GOALS

Goals and Results for TDCJ

Consumption reduction Energy and Water Savings

Agency - TDCJ - Energy and Water Savings - Electricity 48,750,000 kWh - Water 302,000,000 gallons - Natural Gas - 349,000 MCF

Agency - TDCJ - Cost Savings - Electricity - $4.140 million - Water $2.065 million - Natural Gas - $1.448 million

1. TDCJ has approximately 550,000, 4'-T8 lights in its facilities throughout the state. Most of these lights are old 4'-T8 fluorescent lights. In fiscal year 2024, TDCJ added approximately 10,700, 4'-T8 LED new lights to the system and has now installed a total of 293,706, 4'-T8 LED lights. The 293,706 fluorescent lights changed out to LEDs represents 50 percent of all these types of lights in the TDCJ system. LEDs are rated to last 100,000 hours. Since TDCJ started converting fluorescent lights to LEDs, the agency is now realizing a savings of $4,140,000 in electric utility costs per year and approximately 48,750,000 kWh per year by replacing the 4'-T8 fluorescent lights with LEDs.

1. Electrical results illustrate that TDCJ used 599,550,000 kWh of electrical power in fiscal year 2024 compared to 683,202,000 kWh of electrical power used in the base year of 2020. TDCJ succeeded in meeting the annual 2.5 percent goal, with an overall electrical reduction of 8.5 percent. Since the base year of 2020, TDCJ has realized electrical price increase of 26.2 percent, with an increase in the average rate from 6.24 cents per kWh to today's average rate of 8.46 cents. This represents an increase of 2.22 cents per kWh in the average rate. The electrical cost for TDCJ increased by more than $7 million in fiscal year 2024.

1. Water results illustrate TDCJ used 9,285,152 k/gal of water in fiscal year 2024, compared to 10,549,182 k/gal of water used in fiscal year 2020. TDCJ succeeded in meeting the annual 2.5 percent reduction goal with a total water reduction of 3.25 percent. Water and wastewater (WW) prices have increased 14.4 percent since the base year of 2020, resulting in an increase in water and WW costs of $4.6 million. TDCJ has within one year realized significant results with installing water saving devices at the Robertson unit: cost savings for water and wastewater $1.69 million , gallons of water 140,000,000. The results at Robertson show a 58 percent decrease in water usage with a 50 percent reduction in cost and a 57 percent reduction of wastewater usage and 40 percent reduction in cost. Although wastewater is not part of the overall goal for water, it still plays an important role in TDCJ's overall water and wastewater cost. Wastewater usage somehow has increased by 2.28 percent, with a cost increase of $3.2 million, this increase in usage seems odd when there was a decrease in water usage over the same period. Water and wastewater costs exceeded electrical cost by $17.0 million in fiscal year 2023.

1. Natural gas results illustrate TDCJ used 3,163,000 MCF of natural gas in fiscal year 2024 compared to 3,513,236 MCF of natural gas used in fiscal year 2020. TDCJ met the annual 2.5 percent goal with an overall natural gas reduction of 11 percent. Natural gas prices were $3.00 per MCF in 2020, this year's average is $4.15 per MCF. Natural gas prices have increased 38 percent, with an increase of $1.15 per MCF. The high volatility of natural gas due to weather conditions and availability issues makes it a difficult energy source to compare from year to year.

1. The preliminary energy audit goal of auditing all the non-idle units on the system has now finished 54 out of 103 units which represents a 52 percent completion rate. The remaining 49 units will be complete by the end of 2025.

1. TDCJ does not sub-meter in most cases; therefore consumption cost savings and consumption values are calculated or estimated.

1. TDCJ has used 2.5 percent goals and will remain using 2.5 percent as the annual goal for savings.

STRATEGY FOR ACHIEVING GOALS

The strategy section must describe how the agency or institution plans to prioritize and implement cost-effective utility efficiency measures to meet the established utility conservation goals.

TDCJ will continue to retrofit existing/systems with newer more energy efficient equipment/systems as need for replacement arises. TDCJ will also continue to analyze potential energy saving projects and applications of new technologies with project payback, initializing energy saving projects where feasible.

Annually, TDCJ strives to reduce utility and energy consumption by incorporating and installing sustainable utility and energy systems, and by utilizing efficient and sustainable energy designs within its facilities and operations.

TDCJ is retrofitting existing equipment/systems with newer more efficient equipment/systems when the need for replacement arises. This includes the retrofitting of equipment/systems such as but not limited to: Water Heaters and Water Control Systems, Lighting - LED Lamps, Windows, Roofs, Pumps, Motors, Air Ventilation and HVAC Systems.

The list below presents examples that TDCJ consistently targets each year to assist in achieving a reduction in utilities and energy consumption.

LIGHTING — LED use for indoor and outdoor lighting for illuminating areas such as cells, administration, education facilities, gymnasiums, parking, and high security areas play a significant part of all new lighting replacement at TDCJ. LEDs literally outshine as TDCJ's best energy reduction devices. In essence, LEDs combine energy efficiency, longevity, and versatility, makes them an outstanding choice of lighting all facilities. TDCJ will continue its practice of replacing higher wattage lights with LEDs. There are some new promising technologies in lighting such as, new semiconductor material, quantum dots, smart lighting, human centric lighting, li-fi, and energy harvesting with LEDs, and TDCJ will explore them as they go into a cost-effective phase.

WATER CONSERVATION AND REDUCTION — Water costs have escalated over the last few decades. TDCJ consumes a large amount of water annually through various water delivery system, such as lavatories, sinks, showers and in other facilities, for instance, laundries and kitchens. Water being one of our most valuable natural resources requires close attention, and steps have been taken to prioritize using less. Wear and tear can cause these products to leak. Droughts occur in Texas and can last for years, so even though there are times it's seems like it's not an issue, in certain areas of the state, there are drought occurring. Water cost have escalated over the last few decades. TDCJ is committed to sustainably managing this natural resource by means of constant maintenance to stop water leaks and engaging in a relatively new conservation method to control and reduce water consumption. The water controlling devices that are now being incorporated into plumbing systems at many of TDCJ's facilities are being installed in the sink, toilet and shower areas.

WATER HEATERS - In addition to replacing equipment with analogous equipment that basically meets standards, consideration is given for substitute technologies which are cost effective and more energy efficient. In certain situations when boilers or heat exchangers fail, 100-gallon capacity water heaters are used to replace those type of hot water heating equipment.

VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVES (VFDs) - VFDs are now being used in many more applications as an energy saving device throughout the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry. They are used to modulate motor speed by allowing the motor to speed up at higher cooling or heating demands and slow down when the demand is low. Reduced motor speed provides a significant reduction in motor power. The energy savings when used in fans, pumps and compressors can be 30-50 percent over conventional speed applications.

AIR VENTILATION AND HVAC SYSTEMS - Air ventilation is a key factor in providing make up air for both indoor air quality and comfort. The combined use of roof top exhaust fans with wall exhausters produces a continuous comforting breeze and controls air pressure discrepancies. Often a lot of idle time happens between cooking. Modulated exhaust systems have been developed to reduce up to 70 percent of electrical energy that are used to run the fans and still operate within the guidelines required to exhaust the air. When suitable areas within TDCJ facilities arises, emphasis to install a super highly efficient ductless units will be employed. TDCJ uses several types of HVAC systems to cool and heat its facilities. The two types of everyday systems used are either simple or complex. Simple systems use natural gas in a furnace, direct refrigerant and typically serve a single zone. Complex systems use refrigerant to chill water or use a boiler to heat the water which then feeds to air handler coils. These complex systems can heat or cool multiple areas at one time. TDCJ is committed to raising the bar when it comes to HVAC equipment efficiency levels and selects HVAC units with 5-10 percent efficiencies above ASHRAE standards. Additionally, using variable speed drives on fans, variable air volume on chillers helps increase efficiency levels.

NEW TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGHS IN HVAC

1. Smart HVAC Systems: These systems use AI and IoT to adjust cooling and heating based on real-time data such as occupancy levels, outdoor temperature, and humidity. By using smart HVAC system, it allows decision making of how the units are operated and this helps optimize energy use and comfort.

2. Inverter Technology: Inverter-driven compressors adjust their speed to match the cooling demand, reducing energy consumption and noise level while improving overall efficiency.

3. Connected HVAC Systems: These systems integrate with smart devices and IoT networks, allowing remote monitoring and control. This enhances energy efficiency and enables predictive maintenance, reducing downtime and maintenance cost.

4. High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filters: Commercial-grade HEPA filters capture over 99 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns, improving indoor air quality and making HVAC systems more efficient.

5. Renewable Integration: Several modern systems are designed to integrate with renewable energy sources like solar panels, further reducing their environmental impact.

PROCEDURAL CHANGES— TDCJ strives to implement procedural changes that emphasize conservation with low-cost repairs and more efficient procedures.

IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE

The implementation schedule section outlines a proposed timeline for implementing utility cost-reduction measures and a strategy for monitoring utility savings of the installed utility measures.

The Preliminary Energy Audits (PEA), when finished, will include 103 units throughout the state. PEAs were first completed at all the units in 2005 to 2009. During that period, all 103 units were documented in loose leaf folders. The re-evaluation starting period began in 2019-2020. The process is time consuming with units spread out throughout the state and required a full day site visit to complete and additional time to compile the data found. All the energy audits are being conducted onsite to ensure accuracy of the data collected. The data is now being stored on word and spreadsheet files for easy of future use for reference. The TDCJ's facilities engineering staff is diligently committed to finish the PEAs at all its facilities by the end of 2025. TDCJ is committed to funding cost effective projects that will provide cost avoidance on a recurring basis. Therefore, projects will be prioritized accordingly. However, the implementation of all prioritized projects is contingent upon the amount of appropriated funding TDCJ receives. Additionally, adding both cooling and heating HVAC units to all the inmate housing over the next 10 years requires TDCJ to be committed to install equipment with higher efficiency requirements shown in the 2018 IECC and 2016 ASHRAE 90.1 standards in all the new HVAC system installations. Texas has adopted its own water conservation standards.

AGENCY FINANCE STRATEGY

The finance strategy section must describe how the agency or institution plans to obtain funding for the recommended utility cost-reduction measures. This section should show the estimated cost of all projects and funding sources to be used.

Funding options will be subject to the appropriation for capital items from the Texas legislators and may include but not limited to the use of general revenue funds through the LoanSTAR Program and grant funds. The specific financial strategy for each project will be based on the scope of individual projects and the available funding resources.

EMPLOYEE AWARENESS PLAN

The employee awareness plan section must outline how the agency will make employees aware of utility cost-reduction measures, both directly (affecting change in behavior) and indirectly (not designed to affect behavior).

The TDCJ Employee Awareness Pamphlet is available at all units within the TDCJ system. The pamphlet contains information for utility costs and how changes in behavior can reduce utility costs