Tinker’s Energy Awareness Month prompts Energy Awareness Year Published Oct. 29, 2010 By Brandice J. Armstrong Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Energy Awareness Month is drawing to a close, but Tinker's conservation efforts are far from over. The month's events commemorating energy conservation were successful, but the long-term plans could lead to legendary results. The energy-awareness message and conservation practices will be encouraged throughout fiscal 2011. Additionally, the "How Low Can We Go" campaign will be implemented every weekend, not just holiday weekends. "Energy awareness needs to be something we think about, talk about and remind people about year-round," said Britton Young, 72nd Air Base Wing's Civil Engineering Directorate mechanical engineer and point of contact for Tinker's energy team. "Tinker spends about $44 million a year on utilities, that's equal to Midwest City, Del City, Moore and Norman all combined." Tinker is the No. 1 energy consumer in the Air Force. To help reduce usage, the "How Low Can We Go" program is an initiative to encourage personnel to limit energy use when away from the workplace. Participating is simple. Turn off and unplug non-essential equipment before leaving for the night or an extended period of time. Since the program began a year ago, approximately $220,000 in energy costs was avoided. Ms. Young said the campaign goal for fiscal 2011 is to reduce energy consumption by 10 percent over last year. "It really is doable," she said. "When we start getting out there and finding inefficiencies and fixing leaks and maintenance issues, and making people more aware of their energy usage, we can get to that 10 percent." But, that's only one way Tinker is being more vigilant. This winter, contractors are expected to break ground on a two-year project to decentralize the steam plants. Ms. Young said they will put in newer and more efficient boilers that will ultimately save the base roughly $6 million each year, which equates to a 34-percent reduction in natural gas. Additionally, the Air Force Civil Engineering Support Agency recently sent out a team to do a facility audit to examine lights and air conditioning units. The team made recommendations for energy and water conservation and Tinker personnel are just waiting for the results. Ms. Young said she is excited at the possibilities. "Everybody should do the same thing," she said. "Even a trained eye may not see something that you see working in a building every day, so if you see something that doesn't seem quite right, let us know." The installation of 100 advanced meters across base to narrow down the area of energy consumption is another upcoming project. It goes hand-in-hand with Tinker purchasing renewable energy credits from OG&E. "What that means is 7.5 percent of our energy is actually purchased from wind power generated in the Panhandle," Ms. Young said, "so we're not burning fossil fuels." These changes are the result of Tinker personnel taking an active role in the bigger picture. During Energy Awareness Month, 72nd ABW/CE officials hosted an energy expo in Bldg. 3001, which proved popular. And, an OG&E representative talked about electricity safety with Youth Center children. Energy champions were also celebrated. The 72nd Medical Group, which cut energy usage by 38 percent over the course of a year, recently received an Air Force Medical Service Energy Protostar award. In May, the Youth Center was recognized for decreasing their energy consumption by 37 percent over a four-month period. In that same amount of time, energy usage at the rest of the base was reduced by just 19 percent. "These groups are finding opportunities and figuring out what to do to save energy," Ms. Young said. "We're excited to see that grow and spread across Tinker." All in all, it was a successful month that holds promise for the fiscal year. To submit energy conservation ideas, e-mail energy@tinker.af.mil.