inside
the University of Bath

Internal News - 02 December 2005

Cutting the campus energy bill

You will all have heard plenty in the news lately about rising fuel prices, and this winter is being forecast by some to be colder than average with the resultant increase in energy consumption. Climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption is also a highly topical subject.

The University is being impacted severely as much as anyone by these. Due mostly to a far larger than expected gas price rise, our campus energy bill for this academic year has risen by nearly 30% compared with last year. We also have strict government targets under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (set up in response to the Kyoto agreement on climate change) for reductions in energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.

Some facts and figures…

• The energy and water bill for the University as a whole is about £3.3 million a year.
• This is made up of £1.6m for electricity, £1.1m for gas and £0.6m for water and sewerage.
• The new gas price started in October and was a 119% increase on our previous costs
• The academic campus utilities bill has risen by over £400,000 this year
• In a year we use around 25 million kWh of electricity, 330 million litres of water, and burnt gas in our heating plant generating 9000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

What we are doing…

To some extent we are a victim of our current infrastructure, with a large number of inefficient 1960s and 70s buildings on the campus. We are, however, doing a number of things to try and address rising energy usage and costs.

• All new planned buildings (e.g. 4 West, new accommodation, etc) are to be designed for minimum environmental impact and energy use.
• Estates have just started a review of information systems to improve basic data and to be able to target the most wasteful areas of the campus.
• Estates are undertaking a study of the central boiler house to try and improve its efficiency and are looking at a variety of other improvements around campus.
• The University is also involved in a number of bids for government money, working with the Carbon Trust, the local council and with a number of other universities to obtain funding for further improvements.

What we can all do…

There are many fairly obvious ways in which we can all contribute which we may forget in our normal busy working day:

• Radiators – turn them down or off if not needed, and keep doors/windows shut. If rooms are still too hot report this to the Estates Helpdesk (x3232) rather than opening a window.
• There should be no need for individual electric heaters – if these are being used then has the root cause been addressed i.e. has faulty heating been reported?
• Lights – turn them off if not needed, even if you are just leaving a room for 15 minutes.
• Turn off any PCs, photocopiers, lab equipment etc at the end of the day and at weekends.
• Water – turn off taps and report any dripping taps and leaks.
• Consider the energy and environmental impact of any changes and purchases we make.
• Report any problems to the appropriate department.

New Energy & Environment Manager

Peter Phelps has recently been appointed within the Estates team to assist with the improvement process. Peter will be visiting departments to discuss energy issues in the New Year.