Facilities Department Offers Energy Saving Tips

Energy usage and costs last year at UA were at an all time high primarily because of the growth of the institution (increased square feet on campus) and utility rate increases, said Robert Martin, energy engineer.

“The University is heating and cooling an additional 3 percent of square feet. Because of the drought of 2007 and the increase in the cost of fuel, the electricity rate increased greater than 20 percent. Last year, the natural gas cost was more than $5 million and the electrical cost was more than $10.5 million from Jan. 1, 2007, to Jan. 1, 2008,” said Martin.

The facilities department encourages the UA community to reduce unnecessary use of electricity by using the following energy savings tips:

• Turn off lights when you leave a room for more than 15 minutes.
• Replace incandescent lights with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) for desk lamps. Using CFLs instead of comparable incandescent bulbs can save about 50 percent on your lighting costs. CFLs use only one-fourth the energy and last up to 10 times longer.
• Turn off computer monitors when you leave the office or at the end of the day.
• Use task lighting. Instead of brightly lighting an entire room, illuminate your work area.
• Unplug equipment that drains energy when not in use: cell phone chargers, coffeemakers, desktop printers, radios, etc.
• Turn off photocopiers at the end of the work day.
• Maintain air-conditioning set points. Report overcooled (below 74 degrees) and overheated (above 72 degrees) spaces to the building representative. Heating and cooling represent more than half of all energy use on campus.

Many other energy savings tips can be found on the facilities department’s updated Web page at www.uafacilities.ua.edu/energy/. Faculty and staff are invited to visit the Web site and learn more about the department, its goals, energy policy, and links to help save energy.