Don’t Forget to Power Down Before Leaving for Holiday Break!

Posted by hamiltcl on Thursday, December 7, 2017 in News.

Please remember to power down before you leave the office or your home for an extended period over Holiday Break. Your reductions in energy use can have a large impact when aggregated across the entire university. Here are some things you can do to help conserve energy while you are away:

• Turn off lights in your workspace when you leave, even if only for a short period of time. Turning off your lights will save energy if you are gone for more than 30 seconds.
• Turn off lights to common areas such as kitchens, bathrooms, break rooms, classrooms and conference rooms when you leave and especially before leaving for the holiday. Many of these spaces sit empty frequently.
• Turn off office or lab equipment. If allowed in your area, computers, printers, copiers,  scanners, and some lab equipment can be turned off when you leave for the holiday (or at the end of your work shift if they will not be used again for several hours). Otherwise, activate sleep modes and energy-saving settings. Instructions for modifying power settings can be found on the SustainVU Energy Saving Tips page.
• Set thermostat settings to 65 degrees F. Remember to also adjust thermostats in classrooms unoccupied during the holiday.
• In laboratory spaces, close fume hood sashes when not in use, or when the lab is closed over the holiday. A single fume hood running 24 hours can use the same amount of energy as a single-family home in a year.