Do your part to save JBER energy Published April 20, 2011 By Chris McCann JBER Public Affairs JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- When the government budget write-ups are tossing around trillions of dollars, it's hard to think that two cents or a nickel will make any difference at all. When a single F-22 Raptor costs 140 million dollars, and just the Air Force facilities on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson have a $20 million annual budget for energy, does it really matter if Airman Joe Snuffy turns off an office light at the end of the duty day? Yes, said Air Force 2nd Lt. Josef Kallevig, of the Civil Engineers Asset Optimization section on JBER. "Nickels and dimes millions of times add up," he said. The JBER Energy Policy letter states that Executive Order 13514 requires the installation to reduce its facility energy use per square foot by three percent a year through 2015, and it is everyone's responsibility to help achieve that milestone. There are several ways that people can help save energy, both at work and at home, said Jon Paxton, Resource Efficiency Manager with the CEAO. Setting thermostats no higher than 70 degrees during duty hours (68 or even lower is better) and no higher than 65 during off-duty hours is one way. Unplugging unnecessary electronics is another. Shutting down and restarting a computer every day isn't energy-efficient, but copy machines, monitors, speakers, printers, and other peripherals all draw energy even when they're not being used. Plugging those items into a power strip that can be shut off helps save watts, Paxton said. Now that summer is here, the long Alaskan day can have an impact too, he said. "You can get a lot accomplished with the natural light, without turning on office lights," Paxton said. The Air Force side of JBER is the biggest consumer of electricity in the Anchorage area, so actions at work can have a big impact on the community, he said. The JBER energy policy has three pillars - to reduce demand for energy, to increase the supply, and to change the culture to an energy-conscious one. Increasingly, Kallevig said, the Air Force is trying to increase the supply and use of renewable energy. Solar and wind power are easy and visible examples. Not drawing power from the grid to power things that can be solar-powered increases the available supply to everyone else. The CEAO is tackling a few large projects to accomplish the JBER goals. One of the largest is an advanced meter-reading system. It's installed in most of the high-energy-use facilities already, Kallevig said, and it gives an advanced picture of energy usage in real time. That allows energy management personnel to show building users immediately how even small steps can reduce their overall impact - in addition to other benefits, Paxton said. "We can see the results of our awareness campaigns and changes in usage, and provide feedback," Paxton said. "At home, you can't see the results of your habits until next month's bill arrives. Here, we can show people how much they've saved." Most meters require a reader to plug in a handheld computer to pull the data. The new ones are being plugged into a base-wide system that allows energy usage to be monitored without sending meter-readers to every building, also cutting costs, he said. Another project is a "building envelope" for all facilities buildings on the installation. A thermal scan examines insulation, doors and other aspects of the building and shows an infrared reading. "It's significant on an (older) base, with old facilities and a cold climate," said Kallevig. "It's much cheaper to seal the leaks than to demolish and rebuild." The scan clearly shows where maintenance personnel can fix holes and cracks and add weatherstripping and insulation. There are also initiatives to change the sodium-arc lights on the installation to more energy-efficient LEDs. For more energy-saving tips, contact the CEAO at 552-3376.