Energy Assessment and Conservation In a University Environment

摘要

The current state of the economy, along with the rising cost of energy, has strained the university's budget. As a result, the university is forced to cut spending. To elude the possibility of layoffs, wage decreases, or tuition increases, the university can cut costs by reducing the amount of energy it is using. In many cases, energy is not being utilized properly but instead is being wasted unnecessarily. Considerable savings can be obtained by better managing the university's energy usage. To estimate the potential energy savings by The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the energy currently being used by the university was evaluated separately for each building. The assessments revealed a considerable amount of wasted energy. Lights were on in unoccupied rooms, and lights were also observed to be left on for extended periods of time. Computers were on and not being used, and they were rarely ever turned off. A number of personal fans, heaters, microwaves, and refrigerators were present in faculty offices. To reduce or eliminate the wasted energy created by these findings, recommendations to the university are to install occupancy sensors, set computers to go into sleep mode when not in use, close unused computer labs and buildings, and regulate the occurrence of personal energy-consuming devices found in offices. All of the suggestions have a rapid simple payback period.