RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Base officials have accepted the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Defense-initiated challenge to participate in Operation Change Out - The Military Challenge, collectively saving hundreds of dollars in energy costs for base residents.
Operation Change Out is the first national project set up to encourage and help servicemembers save energy, money and protect the environment by replacing inefficient, incandescent light bulbs with Energy Star-compliant compact fluorescent bulbs.
By Oct. 1, denoted as Energy Star's "Change a Light Day," base residents are encouraged to replace at least one incandescent light bulb in their home with an Energy Star-compliant bulb.
Across the U.S., if each military housing resident changed just one light bulb in their home to a CFL they would:
· Save about 62 million kilowatt hours over the lifetime of the bulb, enough energy to light about 32,000 homes for an entire year
· Save nearly $7 million in energy costs over the lifetime of the bulb. That's enough money to purchase more than a dozen mine-resistant, ambush-protected armored vehicles
· Prevent the emissions of more than 95 million pounds of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking nearly 1,500 cars off the road
But the effort at Randolph Air Force Base doesn't stop there. Officials plan to replace some of the bulbs in other facilities around the base, as well.
"The idea is to bring base residents and personnel together to work toward achieving the goal of making lighting more efficient," said Anthony Martinez, Randolph Energy Office civil engineer. "If you have not already done so, please help us make a difference. Change out your old incandescent to new CFLs."
Finally, any neighborhood wanting to showcase their effort can email photos or a description of their "above and beyond" initiatives to
anthony.martinez@randolph.af.mil or call 652-5205.
For more information on how to become part of the national movement, visit
www.energystar.gov/changetheworld.