GO GREEN, GET HEALTHY: AN AGENCY-WIDE EFFORT TO REDUCE ENERGY USE AND MOVE CDC TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY

摘要

CDC has completed many projects and initiatives for little or no additional cost to the Agency. Projects including lighting retrofits, controls reprogramming and solar lighting installations have saved energy without significant additional upfront costs. Other projects such as server consolidations, have been achieved as the useful life of certain assets came to an end and improvements were made at the time of replacement. While building and IT systems have a significant ability to affect energy use patterns, partnering, communications and dashboard type systems allow building occupants to be part of the conservation solution. Low cost projects, email campaigns and other initiatives that motivate occupants can help reduce energy consumption. There is a need for better, simpler, more cost effective metrics collection and dashboard systems to track usage patterns and conservation efforts. Costs for these systems in many cases are prohibitive for building owners. Internal spreadsheets and creative emails can approximate the look and feel of a dashboard system and can give occupants a feeling of control of their own use patterns while evoking a sense of empowerment and ownership in employee behavior. These changes along with broader system and infrastructure changes are key to increasing efficiency in the short run while waiting for the next wave of technological advances in energy efficiency.