Common sense

Common sense

Energy savings are easy to achieve

Mar. 27, 2001

Military bases across Colorado have begun a concerted campaign to cut their energy costs, by cracking down on such abuses as leaving lights on in unoccupied rooms, opening windows while the heating system runs, and failing to shut down computers during lunch hours and overnight.

One would think the military, with all its regimentation, would have more success than most organizations in enforcing utility-saving regulations, but those are common-sense measures that everyone can handle. They boil down to two basic ideas.

The first is a matter of practice. Make conservation practices automatic; for example, turn off lights and appliances upon leaving a room and habit will soon take over. The savings aren’t dramatic, but they are important. We all need to break the habit of wasting gas and electricity.

The second idea is even more logical: Think about energy consumption. Heating the outdoors makes no sense. Heating unoccupied rooms to a temperature comfortable for an office worker is a waste of energy. Powering computers when they’re doing no actual work is wasteful.

The military is not alone in its irresponsibility; we all waste energy at home as well. A television set playing out of sight could just as well be a radio. No matter how long one stands in front of an open refrigerator, the contents are still the same. A lamp on an end table provides better reading light than a four-bulb ceiling fixture. The doors and heating vents to guest rooms and storerooms can be closed. A 68-degree temperature can feel comfortable when an occupant is wearing a sweater; if that person is moving around, the thermostat can be lowered even further.

Technology makes it easier. There are thermostats that automatically allow home temperature to drop when everyone is at school or work and turn the heat back up shortly before everyone is due home. There are timers that turn lights off and on, cue coffeemakers, start dinner. There are energy-efficient light fixtures and bulbs. Newer heating and air-conditioning units use far less energy. Insulation always helps, and it pays its own way very quickly.

Fort Carson’s February utility bill was $400,000 less than the January tab. That’s taxpayer money, and that’s just one base. In addition, that’s natural gas, electricity and money made available for other uses.

Why wasn’t the military conserving energy all along? That’s a good question, and the safest answer is that military leaders were focusing on their real mission, which is defense rather than energy policy. That doesn’t mean they can’t turn off the lights. We all need to be more responsible, and we’ll all benefit from the savings. That could mean better pay and improved morale for military personnel, and enough power to go around.