Christmas switch off - tips to save energy

This Christmas we are again encouraging all staff to turn off as much equipment as possible to try and reduce our energy consumption over the holiday period.

During the Christmas 2017 closure, University Park alone consumed over £110,000 worth of electricity. Monitoring shows that on Christmas Day we were still using 3,600 kW at 4am and total electricity use on that day was 68% of an average day's consumption. As a result, we're asking staff to think carefully about what equipment has to stay on and what can be switched off for the 11-day closure. Together, let's see if we can make significant reductions on last Christmas.

You can help the University to reduce costs as well as carbon emissions by:

• Talking to your office/school/facilities manager to agree responsibilities for switching off lights, shared kitchen and office equipment (shredders, hot water boilers, microwaves etc.).
• Surveying labs and workshops to identify what equipment can be switched off during the Christmas break. Where possible, switch off fume cupboards: un-used fume cupboards can waste huge amounts of warmed air – over a year, a fume cupboard left running 24/7 uses a similar amount of energy as a family car! Remember that some equipment may affect other labs.
• Shutting all windows and doors.
• Reporting any dripping taps or jammed windows to the Estate Office Helpdesk
• Switching off and unplugging any hot water boilers or water coolers. Put a notice on the boiler/cooler so that the first person back after Christmas knows to run off the water (approx 10 mugs) before making a drink.
• If you have a kitchen with a fridge-freezer, use the closure period to defrost it (to make it run more efficiently) and keep it off over the break. Put a notice on the fridge door to notify people.
• Checking that taps are not left running.