STAFF at BAE Systems in Samlesbury have found they can save the firm £2,000 a week in energy costs by turning off air conditioning systems.

The state-of-the-art assembly facility for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, built in a large hangar at the East Lancashire site, is temperature controlled to replicate the conditions of a facility in Texas where parts are also made.

To keep the temperature at a steady 20 degrees celcius, air conditioning units and chillers are used, but a series of tests have been carried out which show that the number of units being used can be reduced at certain times of the year.

Jon Farmer, a member of the BAE Systems facilities management team, said: "For a minimum investment, we discovered that we could maintain the temperature in summer using three air handlers and two chillers and in winter we could work with just two air handling units and switch the chillers off.

"We believe that changing the building management system in the F-35 JSF facility is saving the company around £2,000 a week in the winter. When the chillers are on that figure may fall to around £1,000 during the height of the summer but it's still a significant saving."

Environmental advisor Steve Seed added: "At BAE Systems we are aiming to reduce our energy consumption across our Samlesbury and Warton sites by at least a five per cent.