Passive Cooling Techniques and Systems

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) OPO-18-RFI-000001-Passive Cooling Techniques and Systems THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY in accordance with FAR 15.201(e). This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes; - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP or Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). This RFI does not commit the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to contract for any supply or service. DHS S&T is not at this time seeking proposals. Responders are advised that the S&T will not pay any cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP or BAA. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the S&T. All submissions become the property of S&T, and will not be returned. 1. BACKGROUND/PROGRAM DESCRIPTION DHS S&T is seeking information on developed passive cooling techniques and systems capable of stabilizing temperatures in unmanned facilities, and is issuing this RFI to determine availability, capability, and maturity of these systems. 2. PROBLEM STATEMENT/REQUIREMENTS Passive Cooling Definition. DHS S&T defines passive cooling as an approach that stabilizes interior temperature of a building through heat gain control and heat dissipation with low or no energy consumption. DHS S&T will test and evaluate facility prototype's capability to provide passive cooling to continuously stabilize temperature of electronic equipment at or below 100oF during day / night cycle. Notional Facility Characteristics. The facility will: a) be unmanned, but remotely monitored; b) be 10' x 10' x 10' in length, width and height; c) be sited in austere, geographically-remote desert areas; d) be in an environment where the hottest days reach ~120oF and drop to 86oF at night. [During hot season, average daily temperature difference between day and night was 25oF]; and e) house electronic equipment that is expected to generate roughly 10.0 kilowatt-hours of heat 24-hours-a-day. General Characteristics. DHS S&T requests you provide information on your technique and/or systems general capabilities and attributes, and your company information, guided by the following questions, and include any known or expected issues and limitations. The following questions pertain to your passive cooling technique and/or system for a building. - Approach. What is your approach for heat gain control and heat dissipation? For example, what modalities does your approach use, i.e. conduction, convection, radiation, or a mixture? - Environment Pre-Requisites. Is your approach optimized for facility cooling applications for remote, arid, desert conditions? Is water availability (limited or unlimited) required for your system to work? - Weather Volatility Effects. Does wind, rain, fog, or cloud cover degrade the effectiveness of your approach? - Materials. What materials are required by your approach? Do materials require special fabrication, long lead-time, or are they Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS)? For example, does your approach use special materials, e.g. graphene with high thermal conductivity and high emissivity, or anhydrous ammonia heat pipes? - Above/Below Ground Facility. Is the system buried or above ground? If buried, what is a typical depth and how do soil or freeze/thaw cycle and other conditions affect the system? Are there any other specific burial requirements for the system? - Special Skills or Licenses. What techniques, skills, or licenses/permits are required to implement your approach? For example: a) design and construction will involve masonry, brick-laying, concrete formwork, crane operation, digging or drilling, geo-thermal engineering, heating-ventilation and air conditioning, mechanical engineering; or b) advanced science will involve nanotechnology fabrication or top-down plasma etching? - Temperature Monitoring. Will your system operate without monitoring? Can the user monitor and control the temperature conditions of your cooling system in-place or remotely? - Test Results. Do you have any internal or independent test results? - System Specifications/Drawings. What is the format for blueprints or material fabrication standards that will be used to make the system? - Company History. Is this an existing technology or only a technology concept? If it is an existing technology, how long has your company's product been on the market? - Market Stability. Have there been sales or installations of your system? To whom? Where? - Intellectual Property. Are there any company patents or Intellectual Property restrictions regarding the system? Detailed Characteristics. The Notional Facility Characteristics described above should serve as a reference for answering following questions. - Approach Efficiency. How much more energy efficient is your approach than using a typical window air conditioner to cool interior temperature of a 1,000 cubic foot building in kilowatt-hours per day? - Scale. Could your system be reduced in scale to a smaller sized building than notional facility described above to house electronic equipment? - Maintainability. What is the Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) and Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) for your system? - Estimated Cost. How much will your system cost for the notional facility described above. 3. RESPONDING TO THIS RFI Sources able to address the above request are invited to submit information describing their technology. Please limit White Paper submissions to a maximum of 10 pages (including a cover sheet) and provide the following information: Cover Page (Page 1) - Contact and company information o Name o Title o Company name o Date of incorporation o Number of years in business o Number of employees o Location o Mailing address o Phone number o Website address o Email address o Note that RFI respondents shall designate a single point of contact for receipt of all information pursuant to this RFI. - Name/type of technology or model - Technology maturity: Existing technology or technology concept - Brief overview of company history Body of White Paper (Pages 2-10); the submittal should address the requests for information above, and any additional technical or company information. A description of the system supported by technical parameters is desired. White Papers should be submitted in the following font: Times New Roman/Size = 12. Supporting documentation (such as marketing brochures, fliers, published presentations or papers and other materials that summarize the technology and more about your company) is acceptable (up to 7 pages worth), and may be referenced by reviewers only in support of claims identified in the White Paper, and only where specifically referenced in the White Paper. The Government makes no guarantee that the supporting documentation will be reviewed and/or considered. Responses to this request for information are to be submitted electronically to Office of Procurement Operations, Science & Technology Division, DHS at S&TPassiveCoolingRFI@hq.dhs.gov. - Please include the RFI number (OPO-18-RFI-000001-Passive Cooling Techniques and Systems) in the subject line of your email. - Method of Submission: One electronic submission in machine-readable format (typically PDF, ASCII, MS Word, or WordPerfect format). Submissions must be received no later than 3:00 PM, U.S. Eastern Standard Time, Wednesday, January 10, 2018. DHS reserves the right to review late submissions but makes no guarantee to the order of, or possibility for, review of late submissions. Any company proprietary information, performance capabilities and/or future modification plans should be clearly identified and marked. Respondents are solely responsible for any and all expenses incurred pursuant to responding to this RFI. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Responses to the RFI may be used to develop Government documentation. Unsolicited proposals in response to this RFI will not be considered. 4. GOVERNMENT PLANS This RFI is issued solely for market research, planning and information purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a subsequent solicitation (Broad Agency Announcement, Request for Proposal, etc.). While the Government, after a detailed review and thorough analysis of the RFI submissions, expects to issue a solicitation for additional characterization of several of these devices, it has not committed itself to doing so. In the event a solicitation is issued, the Government expects that the timing is likely to be in early Calendar Year 2018. 5. CLASSIFIED SUBMISSION Classified submissions are not being accepted for the RFI. The eventual solicitation, if any/issued, will have provisions to support classified submissions. Please limit your White Paper responses to this RFI to SSI, company proprietary or unrestricted information, and please mark submissions appropriately. SSI submissions can be submitted as normal by password protecting the document, and then sending the password separately to the contract specialist. The following is an abbreviated description of SSI: "SSI is a control designation used by the Department of Homeland Security, and particularly the Transportation Security Administration. It is applied to information about security programs, vulnerability and threat assessments, screening processes, technical specifications of certain screening equipment and objects used to test screening equipment, and equipment used for communicating security information relating to air, land, or maritime transportation. The applicable information is spelled out in greater detail in 49 CFR 1520.7. When transmitted by e-mail, SSI must be in a password-protected attachment. The password should be transmitted separately of the protected document." 6. QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION All questions must be received no later than 3:00 PM, U.S. Eastern Standard Time, Friday, December 15, 2017. The Government will respond to all questions as soon as practical. Questions and requests for additional information should be sent to Office of Procurement Operations, Science & Technology Division, DHS at S&TPassiveCoolingRFI@hq.dhs.gov.