Submitted by Grainne Kennedy on Fri, 2019-01-18 15:02
2018 is firmly behind us and our energy levels are beginning to rise as we see the evenings slowly stretch, but what about all that other energy that makes our day possible? The energy that we rarely notice. The electricity, gas and biomass that is used in the University. We use vast amounts of energy, in 2017/18 the University consumed 13.9 GWH of electricity alone; the equivalent annual energy usage of 36,614 Cambridge homes!
The energy that powers our University is fundamental to the work that we do and that is why this February the Environment and Energy section are turning the spotlight on energy. During the month we hope to share best practice, identify where we can make energy savings and help staff to access supports to become more energy efficient.
Here are three key actions that you can take to get involved in:
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Equipment As a research intensive University, it's not just computers, monitors and printers that we need to use efficiently, we also have lots of cold storage, laboratory and testing equipment that consumes energy. The Green Labs guidance provides lots of advice on efficient use of lab equipment, while funding is also available to replace certain energy-intensive equipment via the Equipment Replacement Programme |
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Behaviour With more than 11,000 staff and 30,000 students at the University, we have a large cumulative energy impact in our work and study activities. Simple behaviour changes can help us to reduce our energy consumption. 43% of the University’s electricity is used during evenings and weekends, good behaviours like simple shut-down procedures could help to reduce this number. Taking part in Green Impact is a great way to spread those messages of energy efficiency and to create change, as the scheme provides the tools and support to make a real change in your place of work or study. Why not come along to our Green Impact training and networking session on 4 February and find out more? |
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Raise awareness Making energy use tangible can sometimes be difficult but a fun way to help your colleagues consider energy is to participate in Thermal Thursday (figure 1). Thermal Thursday will take place on 28 February, all staff need to do is wear their favourite woollies, ask your Facilities Manager to turn down the temperature by a few degrees and tag the Environment and Energy section in a picture of you or your team on social media. The best photograph wins a prize and departments often collect money for their preferred charity on the day. Departments can register their interest here and the Thermal Thursday poster can be downloaded below (figure 2). |
Figure 1: Thermal Thursday participants 2017 Figure 2: Thermal Thursday poster
Along with your department’s EEC, the Environment and Energy section are here to provide advice and help answer all your energy and sustainability queries. If you have any questions please do get in touch.