When you do the math, our energy use adds up

Thu, 19 Dec 2013 15:38:23 -0500
efficiency, energy, sustainability

The greenest, cleanest energy is the energy we save!

Behind the scenes, Facilities Management, the Climate Change Task Force and especially our campus Energy Manager have been hard at work cutting down our carbon emissions- lowering emissions by over 13% since 2007. But much of the campus emissions comes from energy we don't even use. Just by making tiny changes to our habits and settings we can make a conserve a significant amount!

But how much do our actions matter, really? Look at it this way:

Statistics Source: http://energy.gov/articles/new-psas-help-you-save-energy-and-money

Will turning off and unplugging your things before you leave for break really make a difference? Consider this:

If you take 2 minutes to turn off four lights and the monitor on your computer when you are heading out, the ratio of amount you save to the amount of time you spend is equivalent to an hourly wage of $35.88.

When leaving for a weekend or break, unplugging devices, powering off everything, unplugging your laptop’s power supply, and so on is even more valuable. This cuts down on a lot of drain and can be done pretty quickly – it saves a lot of energy and the value of the time you invest in it is quite worthwhile- roughly the equivalent of a $50 hourly wage.
Dive deeper into the calculations here and here.

Visit this site to learn more about changing your computer settings to sleep mode: http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/energy-efficient-computer-use

Lighting Hacks: Cutting energy with minimal effort

Turn off lights in any empty room you are leaving or passing by.

Lighting accounts for 10 percent to 15 percent of total electricity use; when multiplied by the number of rooms across campus, the potential for savings is enormous.

Make the most of natural daylight, using more efficient bulbs like CFL and LED and use task rather than general lighting (plus it makes for a nicer work space to have a desk lamp instead of harsh overhead lights).

Be proactive; turn off lights whenever they are not needed even in common areas (turning a light back on does not use more electricity than leaving it on).

Electronics Hacks: Cutting energy with minimal effort

Turn off computers, monitors, printers and photocopiers when you leave your office for the evening, and unplug if you are heading out for the weekend or break.

Turn off your computer monitor when you leave your desk for more than a few minutes- and visual screen savers use the same amount of energy as leaving the screen on, so let the screen darken into sleep mode instead.

If you must leave your computer on for off-campus access, use the power management built in to your operating system (Windows: Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Power Options; Mac: System Preferences > Energy Saver) to automatically reduce energy use. If each were turned off, or powered down daily, the potential for significant savings exists.

Or, use a laptop: a typical laptop computer has a power consumption of 30 watts. A typical desktop PC, with conventional display, consumes about 5 times as much.

Printers are typically left on for extended periods of time but are only printing a small percentage of that time. So, conventional printers can be a major energy hog. Laser printers consume the most energy.

When purchasing, select a printer with power management capabilities and always look for the EnergyStar label. Printers with automatic "power down" features can reduce electricity use by over 65 percent.

Thank you to the students from a Technical Communications course who volunteered to create the attached flier. If you found this useful, consider sharing the information with those you live, work, and study with both on and off campus.

Thanks,
Tanvi