Need ideas for conserving Energy at my Campus? Any ideas?

[nukeman]

Im getting a little group together to submit some ideas on how our campus can conserve energy, and what would save the school money and energy.

We came up with some really cool ideas, but I wanted to see if any of you guys/gals had some ideas, or heard of ideas certain campuses are doing to conserve energy?

Thanks all!

 

[Astronuc]

Turn off lights, used reduced wattage lights, and turn down thermostats. Many businesses have done that, and I would expect that the campus staff have already implemented those ideas. I saw it done at one university during the 1970's, and another during the 80's.

 

[nukeman]

Those are great suggestions. We got those, and really hope our campus has already done that :)

Looking for some innovative ideas! Thanks!

Turn off lights, used reduced wattage lights, and turn down thermostats. Many businesses have done that, and I would expect that the campus staff have already implemented those ideas. I saw it done at one university during the 1970's, and another during the 80's.

 

[EnumaElish]

Windows with manually-adjustable tint (or plain old shades)
Auto-start/stop escalators (or plain old stairs)
Library lights powered by pedal-spinning (pedals placed under the study tables).
Hot coals or heat packets for heating individual students (instead of the entire room)
Compulsory jogging between classes
Electric/hybrid campus buses

Summon Voldemort to steal youth energy and convert it to heat/cold.

 

[Topher925]

My school is putting up some new buildings that use geothermal for heating/cooling and solar panels. Other ideas:
CFLs
Paint the roofs white
Insulate hot water pipes
Make freshman spin generators

 

[Astronuc]

My school is putting up some new buildings that use geothermal for heating/cooling and solar panels. Other ideas:
CFLs
Paint the roofs white
Insulate hot water pipes
Make freshman spin generators

Tinting on windows with a southern exposure (if one is in the northern hemisphere) are a good idea. Also planting shrubs and trees on the southern side of a building, especially if the building has a parking lot or roadway along side it can cut down on the heat from the pavement.

I've seen studies that suggest a white roof can reduce heating. Or put solar panels on the roof.

 

[Pengwuino]

Compulsory jogging between classes

How would this help? During summer, a bunch of hot students coming into a class would put a strain on the a/c! Stop trying to make me exercise!

Summon Lab Instructor to steal youth energy and convert it to heat/cold.

Good Idea.

Make freshman spin generators

Good idea too!

@OP: What kind of climate are you in? Various methods are far better in certain climates and geographical locations.

 

[EnumaElish]

No more elevating, please use stairs.
Set H2O heater to 120F.
Compulsory swim between classes during summer.

I like trees with cool shadows (e. g. oak, walnut, not pine).

 

[nukeman]

Western Canada:

Pretty mild winters, and fairly warm summers. Not as cold as the east, so winters hardly get below zero for long.

How would this help? During summer, a bunch of hot students coming into a class would put a strain on the a/c! Stop trying to make me exercise!



Good Idea.



Good idea too!

@OP: What kind of climate are you in? Various methods are far better in certain climates and geographical locations.

 

[dlgoff]

At the University of Kansas they're generating electrical energy in their recreation facility.

The David A. Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center is retrofitting 15 elliptical machines with ReRev devices made by Florida-based SunQuest energy that draw on kinetic energy created by people’s workouts and reroute that energy back into the building’s electric grid — pushing back against electricity supplied by conventional carbon-based power supplies.

http://www.news.ku.edu/2009/july/6/greenenergy.shtml" [Broken]

 

[Proton Soup]

share body heat by sleeping together

 

[EnumaElish]

At least during summer, leave windows open at night -- no A/C.

During winter, leave perishable food outside (e.g. on the windowsill), unplug the mini fridge.

 

[JaWiB]

For offices, install a switch that kills power to the entire desk. Replace faculty and staff computers with laptops, and make sure all computer monitors are energy efficient. Set all computers to standby or hibernate after a certain time of inactivity.

 

[EnumaElish]

In the summer, move to a tent campus in the cool mountains or arctic flatlands. Have freshmen fish, fetch water and collect berries. (Don't let them cook the meals, though.)

Motion-detect floodlights.

Turn off the stadium lights when there's no game (or connect them to motion detectors if too much of a security risk).

 

[Logger]

I would think one of the best ways of saving energy on your campus is to educate everyone about power consumption.Wastage of electricity is probably the greatest cause.Make sure A/C are on timer so that they are not on overnight if nobody is present(put signs at the light switches saying if you are last one out of the room turn off the a?C,signs asking Did You Turn Off The Lights).Motion detect sensors that detect movement for room lighting.Nobody in a room and the lights shut off automatically.Make sure windows and doors are shut in a room if A/C is on.As part of the education get some power consumption meters so that people can see how much electricity each instrument is using and how much it costs to run it.If everyone is aware of what is wasted every year then even if a percentage of the people take this to heart and make a change you will have a nice reduction in power consumption.Use CFL's/LED lighting where possible.Proper insulation everywhere.But educate the masses and talk about cost and the environment.Make sure p/c throughout campus are set to Hibernate.Inform people to power off computer monitors.It just a habit and way of thinking.

Me.

 

[EnumaElish]

Think "cool, cool" or "warm, warm" depending on weather.

 

[Nicodemus]

Consider how much waste-heat your electronics put out, and adjust your own heat to match. Is it cheaper to leave on a lamp that ALSO puts out heat, and turn down the HVAC a degree or two?

 

[Andre]

Eliminate electrical heating, heat pumps are preferred but gas heating is not that bad too. Why because about 90-100% of the gas burned heat energy is directly used for the buildings while the coal/gas burned in the power plants is maybe something like three to four more to have equal effect.

Lights, go LED's


Thermal insolation of the roof is the most efficient type of insolation.

 

[Nicodemus]

Has anyone said that energy is being conserved anyway? ;)