Doable

Why Save Energy and Reduce Water Consumption?

The amount of energy and water consumed by the University is equivalent to that of a town. This volume of consumption has costs associated with it, both financial, and environmental. The costs directly attributable to the University are summarised below, together with information on how they are, and can be reduced.

Energy and Water Budget

The budget for 07/08 budget was £3,100,000. The budget for 08/09 is £4,400,000. This is primarily due to the cost of gas effectively doubling and the electricity costs increasing by 35%. The overall result of this was an increase in costs of £1,300,000.

Energy and Water Conservation

The economic argument for reducing energy and water usage is very strong, in addition there are the environmental impacts arising from energy usage in particular. The latest climate change target is to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from 1990 levels by 80% by 2050. For the year 07/08 the University emissions were 12.7% less than that emitted in 1990. This is good progress, but there is a long way to go.

Where the University is designing and constructing new buildings, energy conservation over and above those required building standards are increasingly being incorporated. Similarly when major refurbishments are undertaken the University is taking the opportunity to install energy efficient equipment and controls. These measures help to improve energy efficiency, but on their own will not be enough.Everyone at the University uses energy and there is potential to improve this element of energy use. The items can be small, but when multiplied up over the University are significant. A few facts are detailed bellow to illustrate this:

• Leaving lights on in a large lecture theatre over night £20
• Leaving a 10kW furnace on for 24 hours when not required £29
• Leaving 20 windows open during the heating season £388
• Turning 600 computer monitors off at lunchtime £800 p.a.
• Purchasing new equipment and appliances, have they been checked to see if they are energy efficient?