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Laughlin wins Energy Incentive Award for ninth consecutive quarter

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ariel D. Delgado
  • 47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Laughlin recently won the Air Education and Training Command's Energy Incentive Award for the ninth consecutive quarter.

The award's criteria considers energy and water reduction compared to the previous years' average baseline.

"This award is given to the AETC base that has the highest reduction in energy from the baseline year," said 1st Lt. Charles Heim, 47th Civil Engineer Squadron energy management officer in charge.

Laughlin competed against 11 AETC bases for the award.

"CE has worked on several projects to conserve energy and water to save the Air Force money," said Heim. "Two examples are the Xeriscape project and No Heat No Cool Program."

The Xeriscape project is designed to minimize irrigation requirements on base by replacing landscape that requires water to maintain with landscape that doesn't to save the base $250,000 a year.

The No Heat No Cool program monitors weather and temperatures to find the best time to turn off heating, ventilation, and air conditioning in base facilities, saving Laughlin $140,000 annually.

Laughlin's members also play a big part in conserving energy and saving money. Whether it's limiting the number of appliances and machines people use, logging off your computer at the end of the day or adjusting climate controls to the appropriate temperatures for the facility.

"In energy management, we feel honored to be part of such a strong energy conscious and conservative base," said Heim. "We know that it's not just us that help the base save energy, everyone plays a part."

CE recognizes this award as a team effort and strives to continue its success.

"Having started out 10 years ago as Laughlin's utility engineer, I have seen our energy program go through ups and downs as policies and leadership came and went," said Ben Graf, 47th CES engineering flight chief. "The last few years have seen tremendous leadership support, and that has made all the difference in our success."

Over the last nine quarters, Laughlin has been awarded more than $2 million in funds for the Incentive program and uses that money for projects on the wing's priority list.