In Hawaii the Coast Guard is riding on the energy effceincy bandwagon, taking active steps to reduce their energy costs and carbonm footprint. The Coast Guard believes this will mean that more money will be spent on helping the coast guard perform their duties.
” Every dollar saved from our electric bill will be one more dollar used to help our units perform more efficiently,” said Lt. Cmdr. Cesar Acosta, commanding officer of Civil Engineering Unit, Honolulu.
The two methodologies of acheiving energy reduction are:
- Using newer technology that would reduce rates on consumption
- Educating staff on how to reduce their energy output
Common tactics for energy reduction were: using fluorescent and light emitting diode (led) instead of high pressure sodium lighting which consumes more power and urinals that require 88% less water and growing plants that do not require irrigation system that usings much water and is expensive to run.
“The team’s accomplishments in the past year and a half saved the Coast Guard an annual recurring savings of over $120,000,” said Lt. Ryan Murphy, an industrial manager and a team member. “In one of the larger lighting retrofit projects, the team focused on exterior lighting and was able to reduce the electrical load of the entire base by 80 percent through high efficiency lighting retrofits and delamping areas with too much streetlight. This project alone saved the Coast Guard $40,000 a year in electricity (costs).”
Sun, Apr 4, 2010
Energy Saving, News