Ansbach DPW seeks to educate consumers of most resources

By U.S. ArmyFebruary 12, 2015

Using resources
ANSBACH, Germany (Feb. 12, 2015) -- The DPW Operations and Maintenance Division at U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach, with the help of automated metering devices, has the ability to monitor the consumption of energy and resources in Army Family Housing quar... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ANSBACH, Germany (Feb. 12, 2015) -- The DPW Operations and Maintenance Division, with the help of automated metering devices, has the ability to monitor the consumption of energy and resources in Army Family Housing quarters and buildings with real-time data.

From an office on Bismarck Kaserne, the division can see how much water a family is using, how much electricity, and, in some instances, they can see the internal temperature of the house. Since DPW pays the utility bills of the off-post government housing units, DPW can monitor their consumption as well.

"Our first meetings with individuals identified as abnormally high consumers of water, electricity and natural gas has already made an impact," said Walter Mattil, director of DPW. "We can see energy and utility costs trending downward with real-time metering data. I thank those that reviewed their consumption with us, understood our goal, and went home to seek energy saving measures."

According to Mattil, the best way to save resources is through education.

"We can construct hyper-efficient housing with state-of-the-art controls to save resources, but the greatest ability we have to save money is consumer awareness and conservation," said Mattil. "With everyone's help, if we reduced our utility bills by only five percent, we would save the garrison over $750,000 per year. That is a lot of money that can be used to fund and build things for the community that could benefit us all."

As DPW expands this program and speaks with high-utility consumers, they ask all garrison consumers to be proactive and seek ways to reduce consumption.

"You would be surprised to learn how much electricity a space heater consumers or how much is consumed with a transformer that's left plugged in and continually converting current," said Mattil. "As we run these reports monthly, we identify the top 10 percent of highest consumers. Once identified, we ask that they attend a small meeting where we outline our findings and ask that they help us reduce costs.

"So please, look around your house now and search for ways to conserve resources," continued Mattil. "If you aren't proactive, you may find yourself invited to a meeting to review your consumption rates. Of course, we'd love you meet each and every one of you but under different circumstances."

To learn more about conserving resources or the Department of Public Works, select the links in the "Related Links" section on this page.

Related Links:

USAG Ansbach official blog site

USAG Ansbach official home page

USAG Ansbach Department of Public Works

USAG Ansbach Environmental web page

USAG Ansbach Housing web page

USAG Ansbach official news source

USAG Ansbach official Flickr page

USAG Ansbach official Twitter feed

USAG Ansbach official Facebook page

USAG Ansbach official YouTube channel