Impacts of Weather Variations on Energy Consumption Efforts at U.S. Air Force Installations

Energy consumption is a national concern, as evidenced by federal laws aimed toward facility energy conservation measures for federal organizations. Factors, primarily weather variables, that significantly impact energy consumption must be addressed and understood to align resources and programs to meet federal energy reduction goals. An energy model was created and tested to produce an appropriate forecasting tool for energy consumption. Energy demand at Air Force installations primarily depends on climatic conditions, with a small portion attributed to a base level of non-climatic conditions, such as interior lighting and appliance loads. By gathering all energy consumption and meteorological data covering 22 years for 74 Air Force installations throughout the world, an overarching predictive model was created. Specifically, heating degree-days, cooling degree-days, wind speed, and relative humidity data were collected and analyzed to determine the influence on energy consumption.