Get rid of 'energy gremlins': Academy closes out Energy Action Month

  • Published
  • By Russell Hume
  • Academy engineer
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The idea of Energy Action Month evokes many thoughts and visions. From compact fluorescent light bulbs, solar panels and electric vehicles, we're surrounded by energy images and messages. At times, we heed these messages by making changes at home to conserve energy and reduce utility costs. It should be the same at the Academy as energy management is everyone's responsibility.

Aviation fuel accounts for more than 80 percent of Air Force energy use. Here, facility energy use dwarfs all energy expenditures; our fiscal year 2014 energy bill is $9.31 million. Instead of spending this amount developing leaders of character, we spent it on energy.

This fiscal year, our electric bill was $4.4 million, our natural gas bill $3.2 million, our propane bill $20,000, our water bill $1.5 million and our nonpotable water bill $625,000. 

If you're still not sold, did you know one in eight soldiers protecting fuel convoys in Iraq from 2003 - 2007 was killed or wounded? Or that one in 24 water or fuel convoys resulted in a casualty? Or that 85 percent of convoy trucks carry fuel? 

Your daily habits are an important part of the culture change within our Air Force. We must balance our career obligations with our energy use to successfully manage its cost.

Inspect your area for "energy gremlins" you can do without. Personal refrigerators, coffee pots, fans, space heaters, and excess monitors and printers, consume energy every day. Commit to conservation by consolidating or removing these gremlins. Get rid of these extra electrical loads. 

So what are we doing here? We're sticking to our Energy Roadmap. Our Net Zero Installation goals are validated and established; our education and awareness plans are ongoing; our facility metering program is complete; our energy management control system is expanded and optimized; our top five energy intensive facilities are fixed; and our top five energy-intense missions and activities are adjusted for maximum conservation. We've reduced our vehicle fleet's fuel consumption, installed high-efficiency exterior lighting, emphasized energy management in our facility designs and managed reimbursable utility customers.

Every dollar spent on energy consumption could be used for mission requirements and heeding these roadmap items lowers the cost of our day-to-day operations.
Together we can tame and control our energy use. One small action is an example for others. They'll follow your lead, their energy-use patterns will change, and our energy management culture will change.

As we close Energy Action Month and start the new fiscal year, I'll borrow from Department of Energy literature: "Turn words into actions, turn actions into results." T

The energy conservation culture change starts with you.