Today's Energy Insight

Beware the Dust Bunny!

When dusting in your office or home, don't forget about light bulbs and fixtures. Dust can absorb up to 50% of emitted light making it necessary to turn on more lights than actually needed. Dusty furnace or A/C filters, refrigerator coils or vents can all add up to more energy use as well. Even dust on electronics can force their fans and motors to run harder eating up more electricity. So the insight today is simple: clean, dust-free lights, furnace filters and electronics = less energy use thus money saved! Yay!

Today's Energy Insight

More Energy Myth Busting!

Myth: Ceiling fans should only be used in the cooling months, not during the heating season.

FACT: Ceiling fans are a great way to cool down in the heat of the summer, but can also be used in the winter to circulate warm air. Warm air rises, and most fans have a switch to reverse the direction the blades spin. In the heating season, fan blades should rotate in a clockwise direction to push the warm air collected on the ceiling down to the rest of the room. Remember to have the blades spin in a counter-clockwise direction in the summer.

Today's Energy Insight

Renewable Energy is any energy derived from natural processes, such as sunlight, water or wind. These resources are replenished faster than they are consumed, hence "renewable". The following fun facts about renewable energy highlight its growth, efficiency, and effectiveness:

• Renewable Energy creates three-times more jobs than fossil fuels.
• One wind turbine generates enough electricity to power up to 1,400 households.
• If taken advantage of to its fullest extent, sunlight that beams on the earth for one hour could meet world energy demands for an entire year.
• The largest wind turbine in the world, located in Hawaii, stands 20 stories tall and has blades the length of a football field.
• Silicon, the major component of a solar cell, is the 2nd most abundant element in the Earth’s crust (about 28% by mass) after oxygen.

Happy New Year

Many New Year's resolutions are about being good to yourself. This year why not resolve to be good to the environment?

Ronald Reagan once said, "Every day begins with possibilities. It's up to us to fill it with things that move us toward progress and peace."

As 2018 unfolds before us ripe with new and fresh possibilities, consider adopting an attitude of "every little bit helps."

Even though a single green effort will not solve the world's environmental problems overnight, there is absolutely no harm in trying to make a small impact by embracing greener habits. Resolve to be more energy efficient this year.

Wishing you an Energy Efficient and Sustainable New Year!

Today's Energy Insight

Look for Opportunities to Save!

Winter break is just around the corner so here is your friendly reminder to look around before you leave the building for an extended amount of time. Be sure you have shut down, turned off or unplugged where possible in your area, office or classroom. Especially look for these:

Computer monitors and speakers
Smart boards and projectors
Copiers and printers
TVs, DVD players and display monitors
A / V equipment
Electronic equipment in Science Labs and Art Rooms
Equipment in Industrial Tech / Auto Shop
Phone chargers
Don't forget to close window blinds too!

Wishing the RAS District and beyond
Happy Holidays and an Efficient New Year!

Today's Energy Insight

Myth Busting!

A common misconception about saving energy is that leaving lights, computers, and other electric appliances turned on when you are not going to be away for very long is a good idea. Switching them on and off all the time wears them out more quickly, and also produces sudden power spikes that negate any supposed energy savings.

If there were ever any legitimacy to this idea, there isn’t anymore. Switching sophisticated modern appliances and electrical devices on and off frequently will not reduce their life span, and any power surges that might occur are likely to be minuscule. The bottom line is that if you aren’t using an electrical device, it should be turned off; period, case closed.

Today's Energy Insight

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

~ Gro Harlem Brundtland

Who is Gro Harlem Brundtland?

She was the first female Prime Minister of Norway and is widely regarded as the “mother” of sustainable development. A physician as well as an international leader in sustainable development and public health, Dr. Brundtland chaired the World Commission on Environment and Development — the Brundtland Commission — which defined the term “sustainable development” in its landmark report, “Our Common Future.” The commission’s recommendations provided the momentum for the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.