Housing partner has plans to save energy Published March 19, 2010 By Balfour Beatty Communities TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE,Calif. -- Across the Department of Defense, energy conservation programs are underway with the goal to reduce our overall energy consumption in the United States by 20 percent, ultimately reducing our dependency on foreign energy. The Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Air Force, with Congressional support, has required the Air Force to work with each privatized family housing partner to develop procedures and programs for Airmen and their families living in privatized military housing to be responsible for their energy consumption. Saving energy and our nation's precious natural resources are key elements of the program. Balfour Beatty Communities is committed to improving the quality of life for our residents and is at the forefront of implementing technology and education to assist Airmen and their families at Travis Air Force Base to reduce their energy consumption. Balfour Beatty Communities has initiated a pilot program at Travis with its sister company, Balfour Beatty Energy Solutions, to conduct a study using state-of-the-art technology and education to maximize energy savings for residents. Thirty homes have been chosen to participate in the pilot program. The selection criteria include the size of the homes, number of bedrooms (three and four bedrooms), year built and the availability of wireless connections. Energy monitors will be installed and audits will be conducted to measure each home's current baseline energy use. The family's use of energy is also observed to identify habits which may contribute to excessive usage. Once these types of behaviors are identified, residents will be provided with customized coaching from energy experts with strategies that can be adopted to reduce energy consumption and state-of-the-art smart tools to measure and manage their energy consumption. We look to create an effective model for reduced energy consumption that can be easily replicated to help servicemembers throughout privatized military housing. Together, with the assistance of our Travis families, we can lead the way by providing the education and tools necessary to reduce utility consumption and conserve our precious resources for the future.