What is Correctional facility utilities?
Correctional facility utilities are the water, electricity, gas, heating, cooling and ventilation used by jails, detention centers and prisons. These buildings run 24 hours a day with high occupancy, laundries, kitchens and showers, and secure plumbing that can be misused, so they are often among the most water and energy intensive buildings a county or state operates.
What it is
A correctional facility combines housing, kitchens, laundry, medical units, courts and offices on one secure site that never closes. Water use is high, and cell fixtures can be flushed repeatedly or damaged, causing floods and waste.
Security limits access for inspection and repair. Maintenance often has to be scheduled around movements and lockdowns, so problems can run longer than in an ordinary building.
Heating, cooling and ventilation must keep conditions safe for occupants and staff at all times. Aging central plants and controls are common, and outages carry real safety consequences.
Who it applies to / where it is used
County sheriffs and jail administrators, county facilities departments, state departments of corrections and private operators. Budget offices watch these sites closely because their utility bills are large and continuous.
How it is measured / what evidence it needs
Useful evidence is continuous, because problems in a secure facility need to be found without a walk-through.
- Water use by housing unit, with night flow and flush event patterns
- Kitchen, laundry and shower hot water use
- Central plant energy, boiler and chiller performance
- Space temperature and ventilation in housing units
- Utility cost per occupant per day
How Aqueduct helps
Aqueduct watches a correctional facility's utilities continuously, so floods, leaks and plant faults are found without a walk-through.
- aQ WaterGuard meters water by housing unit and flags abnormal flushing, floods and leaks
- aQ EnergySmart tracks central plant, kitchen and laundry loads
- aQ AirSafe and FDD keep temperature and ventilation in range and flag failing equipment
- Work orders route into the customer's CMMS with location and measurements, so staff go in prepared