Vandalizing at Vandenberg Air Force Base Creates Opportunity

Lompoc, CA, July 03, 2009 --(PR.com)-- “One night someone broke light bulbs in the pool, so we had to drain the whole pool to repair it.” said Brad King, the Energy Manager at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

While the pool was drained, the Vandenberg Air Force Base decided it would be the perfect time to upgrade the pool, which was built for base residents in 1948 and was in need of repair.

“The pool had a leak in the drain and was dropping 4 to 6 inches every day,” said Raymond Castillo of Brahman Engineering. “They were having to constantly refill and re-heat water being replaced, so it was a never ending cycle. We replaced the old drain and re-coated the pool with fiberglass liner. … and had Solarponics install the solar on roof.”

“We were talking about putting a thermal energy system on the roof to reduce pool heating costs, so while the pool was drained it was the right time to do it,” said King.

The Vandenberg Air Force Base was heating the base swimming pool with a natural gas steam broiler, which cost approximately $70,000 to $100,000 per year to heat. The new solar pool heating system is expected to cut the cost of heating the pool by more than half.

“In 2-3 years, the system should pay for itself,” said Kristian Emrich, Project Manager at Solarponics, whose team installed the solar pool system at the Vandenberg Air Force Base. “And will cut the costs to heat the pool during the swimming season for approximately 9 months a year.”

The solar pool heating system is one of many ways that the Vandenberg Air Force Base has been cutting back on their energy usage for the past 3 years. Laws were passed in 2005, requiring all federal agencies to decrease their electrical and water usage by 3% each year, in an effort by the government to take strides towards energy conservation.

“We are currently doing lighting retrofitting on base and we put in LED street lights. We are now 90% done retrofitting 108 office buildings on the base,” said King.

“We’ve tracked a 9% reduction in consumption per year,” said King of Vandenberg Air Force Base’s successful energy conservation program. “This (solar pool system) is the first big step to cutting back on natural gas usage on the base.”

Solarponics is the Central Coast’s alternative energy pioneer, helping residences achieve energy independence for over 30 years. The longest continuously owned and operated solar company in California, Solarponics has been family owned and operated since 1975. For more information, visit solarponics.com.

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