HORSHAM AIR GUARD STATION, Pa. - October is Air Force Energy Action Month. This is part of the Energy Flight Plan, which the Air Force established to enhance mission assurance through energy assurance.
Horsham Air Guard Station has been making improvements as part of this initiative by conserving energy in several ways, said Chief Master Sgt. Christian Haas, the base facility manager with the 111th Civil Engineering Squadron.
One improvement was replacing the base's former streetlights with energy-efficient street lights.
Haas said that the energy savings was so dramatic that a representative from PECO (formerly the Philadelphia Electric Company) called to ask why the base was suddenly using so much less energy.
Another initiative, which is still underway, is replacing all fluorescent light bulbs throughout the base with LED lights. This has not only resulted in significant savings, but it has conserved a significant amount of energy.
"At the base gym, where the lights stay on 24/7, the original bulbs were 400 watt metal-halide bulbs and there were 11 of them there," said Haas. "We replaced them with LED retrofit lights, taking it down to 120 watts each. That's greater than 50 percent."
In addition to these energy-saving improvements, the base also plans to re-use its waste oil in waste-oil heaters, said Lt. Col. Jacqueline Siciliano, the environmental manager with the 111th Mission Support Group.
"We can use that to offset the cost of utilities, burn off the waste oil and heat facilities," said Siciliano. "In the summertime we can store the oil, and when winter comes, we can just fire the heaters up."
These heaters would be used to heat larger spaces such as the supply warehouse, vehicle maintenance shop, and possibly the gym.
Some measures that can be implemented at home to save energy are:
• Using LED bulbs
• Installing a storm door
• Re-caulking windows and other places where cool air can enter and exit
• Turning off lights in areas you're not occupying
• Using energy-efficient appliances
• Installing programmable thermostats