No Heat/No Cool program underway at Yokota

  • Published
  • By 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  With the arrival of fall, the 374th Civil Engineer Squadron flipped the switch Oct. 17, shutting off Yokota's heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, systems.

The program, called No Heat/No Cool, helps maintain the critical and aging HVAC infrastructure by allowing routine, preventative maintenance to be performed.

"This period is critical to increasing the lifespan of Yokota's infrastructure and reducing the frequency of unplanned heating or cooling outages at other times during the year," said Capt. Michael Pluger, 374th CES Operations Flight commander. "Maintenance of the heat-side equipment will begin once the chilled side has drained."

In addition to allowing maintenance updates, No Heat/No cool also cuts the base's electricity bill by thousands of dollars.

The energy that would be used to run the HVAC systems during this period is being saved, bringing an approximated energy savings of $13,000 a day for each "no-cool" day and $27,000 a day for each "no-heat" day, said Pluger.

No Heat/No Cool not only saves money and allows essential maintenance to be performed; it also works in conjunction with the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This act mandates that federal facilities reduce the rate of energy use by three percent per year starting in fiscal year 2006, with a total reduction of 30 percent by fiscal year 2015.

"Most of our utility bills come when the weather gets colder and the heaters are turned on," said Christopher Cook, 374th CES energy manager. "The No Heat/No Cool season at Yokota contributes to our energy reduction goals."

Base wide commercial air conditioning systems were shut off starting Oct. 17 and the No Heat/No Cool season will run until the five-day average maximum temperature is 62F or until Nov. 18, whichever comes first.

The order of precedence to begin turning on the HVAC systems starts with housing, high-use facilities and critical facilities such as the Child Development Centers.