CE promotes 'power naps'

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Hailey Davis
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  With summer comes higher energy usage in homes. Here in Okinawa as the temperature increases the air conditioning overworks itself to keep housing units cool.

Since 2008, energy usage has decreased by 12 percent overall and continues to decrease with help from service members and their families.

One way that energy usage has decreased is with family members taking small actions such as changing a light bulb to a more energy efficient bulb or doing laundry in the morning rather than during the day.

According to Richard Hayden, 718th Civil Engineer Squadron utilities manager, the cost of energy has increased 7 percent since 2011.

The 718th CES on Kadena is putting together an energy conservation campaign between the months of June and September to highlight Kadena's high energy usage between the hours of 1-4 p.m.

The main goal of the campaign is to reduce energy usage by another 3 percent.

"Even though we're conserving, and we have a very aggressive conservation program we need to get even more aggressive because the rising costs are outstripping our current conservation efforts," said Sundae Knight, 718th Civil Engineer Squadron.

The message the CES is trying to put out is to conserve energy as much as possible. During the hours of 1-4 p.m. they suggest turning off appliances, lights, and other devices that require energy to run, taking a "Power Nap."

By taking a "power nap" from 1-4 p.m. the estimated total savings could be about $150,000 each month.

The CES needs help from service members and their families during these hours, specifically families living in military family housing, in order to conserve energy.

As Kadena dives further into summer, remember to turn the power off for a few hours each day to help save money.

For more ways to conserve energy, follow the link to Okinawa's military family housing website for energy saving tips, http://www.okinawamfh.com/energy_saving_tips.htm.