AFIT Lauded for Lower Energy Consumption

  • Published
  • By Amy Rollins
  • Skywrighter Staff
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Competition builds winners, leaders, innovations and success stories. In the case of a recent competition at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, it also saves money.

As part of the base's observance of October as National Energy Action Month (EAM), a consumption reduction challenge was issued to 10 of the largest energy-consuming organizations on the installation. The 88th Civil Engineer Group randomly picked and monitored a single building from each organization during the month, with the largest energy saver able to claim bragging rights at the end of the month.

At the Nov. 18 meeting of the 88th Air Base Wing Energy Management Steering Group, chaired by Col. John Devillier, 88 ABW commander, it was announced that the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) won the 2015 EAM Energy Intensity Reduction Champion Award for having the greatest percentage of "intensity reduction" in Bldg. 641, Area B.

Devillier presented Col. Doral "Ned" Sandlin, AFIT commandant, with a plaque commemorating AFIT as winner of the Energy Action Month Utility Consumption Reduction Challenge Competition.

"We got the word out on our Intranet site and through e-mails (to reduce our energy consumption)," Sandlin said. "The people who deserve the credit are the faculty, staff and students for being energy conscious."

A warm October also encouraged AFIT's occupants to turn off lights to make spaces cooler, too, he said. A growing percentage of people who telework from home also helped, as did timer switches and faculty and staff turning off lights. Sandlin pointed out that AFIT winning the reduction challenge is appropriate.

"We teach an energy management course in our civil engineer school. We should practice what we preach. In our graduate school, we have master's students in engineering management. ... This is a reflection on them and their professionalism to win this award," he said.

"Base energy reduction can mainly be achieved in any combination of the following three areas: 1) reducing base facilities and infrastructure, 2) providing additional facility/utility projects that provide more energy-efficient operations and 3) reducing facility/mission energy consumption," said Michael Tibbs, chief of energy management, 88 ABW Civil Engineer Group.

In September, Wright-Patterson AFB surpassed the $1 million threshold in Dayton Power and Light Co. rebates by completing dozens of lighting and HVAC efficiency upgrades in more than 100 facilities, he said. In total, the projected energy savings of these projects is 16.5 million kWh annually, which equates to about $1 million in electricity costs savings each year.

"We are extremely pleased with all of our mission partners' energy conservation efforts, and we encourage every person at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to treat their office/work environment as they would do at their home to reduce energy consumption," Tibbs said.

"A major factor in energy conservation is culture, and any culture shift takes time," said Noah Fillian, energy engineer, Civil Engineering Energy Management Team. "The more effort organizational leaders put toward energy conservation, the more people will be aware and willing to participate, accelerating the overall culture shift timeline. This EAM competition represents a great milestone in Wright-Patterson Air Force Base team participation in energy reduction goals."

Other organizations participating in the competition were: Air Force Materiel Command - Bldg. 262, Area A; National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Bldg. 484, Area B; Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Bldg. 560, Area B; 88th Communications Group, Bldg. 676 Area B; Air Force Research Laboratory, Bldg. 802, Area B; 711th Human Performance Wing, U.S. School of Aerospace Medicine, Bldg. 837, Area B; 88th Mission Support Group, Bldg. 60, Area A; 88th Civil Engineer Group, Bldg. 146, Area A; 445th Airlift Wing, Bldg. 4006, Area A; and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, complex.

To provide more information about Wright-Patterson AFB's energy management program, a video was created and may be seen on the WrightPatt88 YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVJsFtC1qoE or on the Wright-Patterson AFB Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/WPAFB.