Energy-efficient dorm improves quality of life

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Katherine Windish
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  The 31st Fighter Wing continues to make "green" strides with the recent ground breaking ceremony for its new energy efficient dormitory.

"The quality of life is going to be vastly different from what it has been in the past," said Master Sgt. Harold Ackett, 31st Civil Engineer Squadron programs flight superintendent. "As many of us know, the dorms in Area 2 are becoming condemned or dilapidated to the point where they're not in livable condition anymore, as well as being inefficient power mongers. This new style of dorms is energy efficient and made with green materials. It's also going to allow us to return property back to the Italian air force and drastically reduce our footprint and the cost of our utilities."

The 51,000 square-foot dormitory will replace the Area 2 dormitories, consolidating its current 144 unaccompanied Airmen into a single dormitory campus. It will include 36 quad modules, each consisting of four rooms, one shared kitchen and one shared living area.

The facility also has a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver-certified rating for efficiency.

"LEED, to build the concept, is green construction and environmentally-conscious engineering" said Ackett. "And the Air Force is trying to be a leader in that. This new dormitory will be much more efficient than the dorms we currently have. This is a model of what the Air Force is looking for in new-age technology that's more efficient, more user-friendly and has less impact on the environment and the Air Force."

Wing leadership plans to move all U.S. Air Force assets out of Area 2, returning it to the Italian air force. The new dormitory will remove the plan's primary roadblock.

"By simply getting rid of old technology and using new, this project will save the Air Force tens of thousands of dollars per year," said Ackett. "We're reducing the amount of dorms we have to maintain and condensing. We're not operating three buildings, we're operating one and that one is far more energy efficient."