STUTTGART, Germany -- Rising energy costs and a declining fiscal budget have caused U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart leaders to take a closer look at the community's energy usage.
Numerous community organizations participated in an energy symposium last month.
"We came away with very viable energy-saving ideas that the community as a whole is employing to help reduce energy consumption and costs," said Steven Raymond, chief of the operations and maintenance division for the USAG Stuttgart Directorate of Public Works.
The symposium, which is similar to the Army Family Action Plan process, brought subject matter experts together to develop ideas to make the garrison more responsible for and responsive to energy conservation and environmental sustainability concerns.
Ideas included reducing the temperature of hot water, turning off lights and installing motion light sensors.
"We've already made adjustments to the hot water through the heating system, installed many motion light sensors, and we are conducting a test at the Stuttgart Army Airfield, where we changed the street lights from photo-sensor to timers, and are determining if turning off street lights for a set time is feasible," Raymond said.
More traditional energy-saving ideas included using energy-efficient shower heads and light bulbs in housing, and fully opening windows a couple of times a day instead of leaving the windows semi-open for long periods of time.
"Energy-efficient light bulbs and shower heads are available at the Self Help Store, and energy tips such as leaving the windows open for short periods are good ideas that we are hoping to inform people through energy awareness and education campaigns," Raymond said.
"A big plus from the symposium was that people found they can make a difference by practicing energy-saving measures in their offices and in their homes," he added.
The command was recently presented with an Energy Awareness Conservation Assessment conducted by personnel from Installation Management Command Headquarters and a private energy assessment firm.
The garrison will benefit from the assessment.
"We can ask community members to be conscious of their energy use and cut back whenever possible, but the garrison command has to take a good look at how we can save energy," said Col. Richard M. Pastore, USAG Stuttgart commander.
"I believe the energy assessment will help us identify a number of areas within the community where we can save energy and money," he added. "Reducing light usage without compromising our safety and security is one area where I believe we can see an immediate reduction in energy waste."
With their focus on reducing light consumption, the assessment team keyed in on high-traffic areas, such as fitness centers, motor pools and even child care centers, as well as housing areas and office locations.
"The team did a great job of assessing our energy usage ... and providing us with many low- or no-cost, energy-saving opportunities," Raymond said.
Some of the cost-saving measures were common-sense ideas, such as turning off lights when they are not being used or just turning them down.
"The assessment team identified various areas within the community where just turning down the brightness of the lights can save us thousands of dollars per year," Pastore said. "The assessment also re-validated the energy losses with our older heating systems on Panzer Kaserne and Patch Barracks."
The symposium focused on the community aspect of energy conservation issues, while the assessment focused on technical improvements, system upgrades and energy control management that the command will evaluate and implement.
"Next, we will take advantage of U.S. Department of Energy resources. We have requested a team of experts to come to Stuttgart to evaluate our work to date and help with the development of a "strategic road map" for near-, mid-, and long-term energy savings," Pastore said.
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