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Helpful Tips.....
 For
every degree below 78 you set your thermostat during the summer, your cooling
costs may increase by 9 percent (imagine what this means for an organization as
large as Pasadena ISD).
Close
window coverings (blinds and drapes) during the day, especially on the east and
west sides of a building.
Blocking
the sunlight from entering reduces heat gain. Sunlight can increase the demand
on the air conditioner by as much as 30 percent.
Turn
blinds up instead of down.
White
blinds can reduce solar heat gain through windows by up to 50 percent.
To
make it easier to “shut down” your computer equipment each day, try plugging
the computer, printer, scanner, etc. into a surge protector/power strip. Then at
the end of the day, after you shut down the computer, simply turn the power
strip off and that will take
care of everything else that is plugged into it.
If
the computers and their monitors were left on 24-hours-a-day in this district,
it would cost approximately $168,900 per month in utility costs. If they are
shut down daily, the cost drops to $37,050 or a savings of $131,850 per month in
utility costs.
The
number of portable classrooms in the district is approximately the equivalent of
two intermediate campuses. This equates to about $30,000-$40,000 per month in
electricity costs.
If
one-half of the 274,000 teachers in Texas turned out the lights everyday on
their way to lunch, it would save $3.4 million each year.
One
of the strongest conservations tips for today's technology is simply this: When
you're not using it, turn it off. Even if the equipment is only off for brief
periods,
such as during lunches, meetings, or breaks, you'll see a reduction in energy costs.
Alternatively, the next best solution is to enable the power-saving features
of your
particular system so it goes into "sleep mode" when it's not being
used. According
to the EPA, nearly 44 percent of computer users do not use the power-saving features
of their computer. New computers that have this feature will power down to as
little as 15 watts or less while remaining connected to the network. Using this feature
alone can reduce the overall electrical consumption of a given computer by up to
50 percent. (If you're using a screen saver on your monitor, be aware that these
normally don't save any power.)
To enable the power down feature:
On older machines that do not have the power down feature, simply turn the
monitor off when it is not in use.
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Energy
Conservation Tips