HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah — The Energy Management Office here was recently honored because of their numerous energy saving efforts that were completed in 2016.
After having followed Air Force guidance, the Hill AFB Energy Management Office, working with the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, American Water and tenant units, was honored as part of the Utah Industrial Energy Efficiency Challenge for their completion of over 50 energy saving projects. According to Energy Outreach Coordinator Karen Bastian, not only did the projects “more than meet the return on investment,” but they also allowed the base to reduce electric energy consumption by 3.5 million kilowatt-hours of electric power, equivalent to an annual savings of $210,000.
Upgrades, such as converting buildings’ lighting to LED and installing LED street lights, have created a positive impact for everyone living and working on base, said Bastian. “Some of the energy projects, have included the upgrade of many buildings’ HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) systems offering people more comfortable working spaces. The new interior LED lighting also creates a balanced and improved working environment providing softer light and less glare. Through our outreach events, people learn a variety of energy saving tips that can be applied at work and at home that put the savings into their pockets.”
Because of these energy saving projects, the base is going to “save money, and be environmentally cleaner,” said Bastian, as she listed the benefits of the projects. “At the strategic level, we are going to be able to more efficiently preserve our resources without mission compromise, and most importantly improve base resiliency.”
Rocky Mountain Power is involved with the base’s energy saving efforts. The base uses the utility’s Wattsmart program so that it can “earn incentives for energy savings projects, which is reinvested back into additional energy saving projects,” said Bastian.
This award is the third the Energy Management Office has won in recent years. In 2015 they won the Federal Energy and Water Management award and Rocky Mountain Power’s Wattsmart Business Customer of the Year.
The Energy Management Office is “pleased that their efforts are making a difference” and that Hill is being recognized for its energy reduction efforts. “Most importantly, we are just happy for Hill Air Force Base—that collectively we are we are doing good things to reduce energy consumption,” said Bastian.
