UMass Boston’s Campaign to Conserve
Welcome to UMass Boston’s Campaign to Conserve, an on-line resource dedicated to energy conservation efforts at UMass Boston. This blog has been created as an open forum for the UMass Community to talk about energy conservation. Post your ideas, reflections and successes here!
Don’t forget to check out our Campaign to Conserve Website at csc.umb.edu/UMB_CFP_Conservation.htm where you’ll find tips for saving energy and articles of interest about conservation on campus.
Comments
The computer lab info on the linked website is pretty cool.
The entrance/exit areas in Campus Center are overheated for long periods of time even late at night when there are only a few people on campus. These areas are extremely hot and no one can stand there for more than few seconds – e.g. to wait for the bus or wait for someone. My guess is that the heat can be turned off completely as they serve to isolate the outside from inside heated areas and can perform this function without the heat on. This really seems like a waste of energy.
Is there a blog where people can discuss ideas on how to cut costs in general? There are certainly quite a few things that UMass Boston can do, beyond going green, to stretch our shrinking budget.
How about putting signs on the doors adjacent to the revolving doors at the two main entrances to the Science Building asking everyone to use the revolving door rather than the side doors. Big arrows pointing to the revolving door would help, plus an explaination that using the revolving doors saves heat/energy. I understand that the heat savings would be considerable, although I haven’t looked for the info to back this up.
How about putting signs on all of the electrically operated doors (handicap accessible doors) on the catwalks asking everyone to manually open the doors rather than use electricity. Someone should be able to do a quick calculation to determine how much energy would be saved.
I agree with respect to the handicap doors; I am sick if seeing people who are capable if opening the doors needlessly waste energy.
It seems as though the new barcodes in the cafeteria are a waste of paper. They don’t really seem to speed things up noticably to boot.
Ban smoking on campus.
With no smoking, that’s fewer toxic materials from cigarettes being burned, escaping into the atmosphere and into campus buildings. With fewer people going outside to smoke that’s less heat escaping the buildings, less times electricity must be used to open those doors. Fewer of the student population breathing in second-hand smoke.
How committal is the non-smoking policy? Go to the first or up to the second floor of Wheatley building during the day — and pick your favorite flavor of ashtray.
seriously people….let’s stop wasting paper products in the cafeteria!!! I urge you all to stop using the paper trays, paper cups, and taking extra napkins, etc.
If we all did our part, things would really make a difference.
think twice before you grab that tray. Do you really need it to carry that ONE whopper? you can carry that in one hand. seriously….stop…think…
it would really help out.
I completely agree about the handicap doors. People are too lazy to manually open the doors which stay open for an extended time, allowing heat to be wasted. I wasn’t even thinking of the electricity it uses. And agree about the areas entering the campus center being over heated. Also in the hotter weather, the bathrooms are so cold I get goose bumps every time I go in there. Turn the heat down, and AC down…save money and electricity!
I’m so glad to see that other people are irked by the over-use of the handicapped buttons. Not only does it waste electricity, but causes the doors to remain open longer than needed, thus heating the outdoors.
Also, the cafeteria really doesn’t need so many lights on during the day. They should turn off at least half of them. I have a feeling that the floor to ceiling windows and all white (or near white) building materials and paint would make great use of natural light without so many electric lights being used.