The festive period is with us again – which means that University buildings will be closed for 11 consecutive days. This marks the longest period of time that the University is closed all year and therefore offers us considerable potential to reduce our carbon emissions and energy usage.
Our performance so far this year has been excellent – for every month this year we have consumed less energy than 2016, approximately 7% less year to date which is an excellent result. This has been achieved by a number of initiatives, including LED lighting upgrades, solar photovoltaic installations, boiler and control upgrades as well as our switch-off campaign.
The biggest unnecessary use of electricity over the Christmas period is likely to be from what is known as “Vampire Power”. This is when devices are left on standby – indicator lights on PC monitors, laptops and TVs and clocks or other displays on printers and microwaves are a sure sign that devices are using electricity. Although small, when you consider the scale of the University and the thousands of devices spread across our buildings as well as the length of time involved, they can combine to consume an unnessesary high level of electricity over the festive period.
So please make an extra effort before you leave this Christmas to switch off any non-essential equipment and lighting before you leave. The best way to ensure equipment isn’t using “vampire power” while you’re away is to switch off or unplug at the socket. Please also remember to switch off lighting and non-essential laboratory equipment such as drying ovens and fume-cupboards.
Have a wonderful Christmas ?!!