Misawa’s bright idea: Cut off runway lights at night

[unhappycamper]

Misawa’s bright idea: Cut off runway lights at night
By Teri Weaver, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday 30, October 29, 2009

TOKYO — Col. R.C. Craig always wondered why the flight line was lit up so brightly when he drove through the base late at night, especially since no flights were coming in or going out.

That nagging question turned into $56,700 in projected annual energy savings for Misawa Air Base when officials took Craig up on his idea to turn out the lights at night.

"I’d see a field of hundreds of lights and knew it consumed a significant amount of energy," Craig, vice commander of the 35th Fighter Wing, said in an e-mail Monday.

In years past, the light bill for the airfield has averaged around $85,000, according to Dave Lochtefeld, the resource efficiency manager for the 35th Fighter Wing. Going dark at night — which involves little more than flipping a virtual switch on a computer system — is estimated to cut the airfield’s electricity bill by two-thirds. Already, airfields at Yokota and Kadena air bases take similar measures.

"There’s no compromising in aircraft safety," said Senior Master Sgt. Charles Washington, who manages the airfield. "It’s just something that made sense."


Rest of d'oh article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=65716

[Sherman A1]

1. Sometimes the most obvious solutions are the

most difficult to find.