Yokota Air Base, Japan --
With winter fast approaching, on Nov. 7th, the 374th Civil
Engineer Squadron started flipping the switch, turning on Yokota’s heating,
ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, systems.
With this year’s fall being colder than average the HVAC winter
system startup began 12 days sooner than anticipated. The yearly program, No
Heat/No Cool, runs until the five-day average maximum temperature is 62F or
until Nov. 19, whichever comes first.
No Heat/No Cool, gives the 374th CES time to preform
maintenance on Yokota’s HVAC system as well as save energy and money during the
time of year when the HVAC systems are not needed, said Michael J. Haka, 374th
CES energy and utilities manager.
According to Haka, Yokota Air Base saved over $330,000 and
over 14,000 million British thermal units of energy during this years No
Heat/No Cool period.
Starting the HVAC systems over the whole base is a process
that takes time, said Airman 1st Class Sean M. Bialecki, 374th CES HVAC
journeyman. Starting with ensuring all boiler stations around base are working
correctly, checking all the steam pipes running to the buildings are clean and
have no leaks, and finally checking the pipes in each building for leaks.
According to Bialecki, the time it takes to check all the
working parts of the HVAC systems is essential for the safety of base personnel
and the correct operation of the bases HVAC systems.
Although it takes time to get the HVAC systems up and
running for winter, most of the maintenance is done on the heating systems
during the summer months to ensure a seamless transition when winter comes,
said Bialecki.
The order of precedence for turning on the HVAC systems
starts with housing, high-use facilities and critical facilities.
After the heat is on at Yokota and the base is
well into winter, the 374th CES will be hard at work getting Yokota’s HVAC cooling
systems ready for summer, when the cool air is needed to escape Japans hot and
humid summers.