Eglin ramps up for 2nd quarter energy challenge Published April 14, 2010 By Ashley M. Wright Team Eglin Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The competition is growing in another energy challenge kicking off April 19. This time, the month-long contest will be between the Air Armament Center, the 96th Air Base Wing headquarters and the Air Force Research Lab in buildings 11 and 13. The contest will measure which building can execute the most effective energy conservation techniques. The Eglin Energy Management Office, which officiates the contest, took an entire month of meter readings for each building prior to the kick off. This was to establish a baseline average for the buildings involved. The office will measure energy use on a weekly basis for the duration of the contest. The goal of the contest is to increase situational awareness of energy use and change culture, said Paul DerSarkisian, Eglin Energy Management Center energy efficient technician. The winner will receive a traveling plaque from the inaugural energy challenge winners, the 308th Armament Systems Wing in building 349.The building occupants reduced energy consumption by 6.6 percent, and all three buildings involved saved about $4,500 of taxpayer dollars. The Air Force spent more than $9 billion on energy cost in 2008, according to a report from the center. Electricity was more than 46 percent of energy use and 64 percent of cost in fiscal year 2008. Therefore, an individual's actions at Eglin to operate air conditioning, heating, lighting and electronic equipment efficiently can significantly reduce the single largest area of facility energy usage and cost. Tips to reduce include maintaining building temperature at 68 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees in the summer, using both sides of paper when printing and placing computers in power save mode when the mission permits.