Oldest fridge contest

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Foster
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  A majority of Hanscom organizations use refrigerators to keep their sodas cold or their lunch fresh, but the thought of how much an old, out-of-date fridge actually costs to keep running probably doesn't cross the minds of most.

To make personnel more aware of energy consumption, the Hanscom energy team is putting together an oldest fridge contest for all 66th Air Base Group and Air Force Life Cycle Management Center organizations on the base.

Bruce Finley, Hanscom energy manager, explains why there is a need for energy consumption awareness and how having an oldest fridge contest can help.

"We want to develop awareness at the lowest levels to reduce demand and save money," said Finley. "The big three Air Force-level goals when it comes to energy initiatives are to increase supply, reduce demand and to jumpstart a culture change, which happens at the individual level."

To enter the competition, units must submit a photo and proof of the refrigerator's age, which can be found on the manufacturer's nameplate. The fridges must be government owned and at least 18 cubic feet in size. Entries must be submitted by March 31.

The organization with the oldest refrigerator will win a modern Energy Star Rated refrigerator up to 25 cubic feet.

Hanscom has more than 700 refrigerators and only 12 percent are Energy Star rated, according to Finley. If all fridges on base were replaced by Energy Star rated appliances, the cost savings would be around $30,000 per year.

"Hopefully this competition will appeal to a wide audience of people who don't generally think of themselves as being able to help decrease energy costs," Finley said. "This is the way to allow these types of projects to reach out across the base. This way it gets down to the individual level."

Organizations that are interested in the competition can submit their entries to the Base Energy Team at 66.ABG.CEK.Energy@hanscom.af.mil.