Energy
Wind turbines on South Tower
Photo-voltaic panels on the roof of the west wing
Did you know... although our renewables on site at Kedleston Road only produce a fraction of what we actually use, the rest of our electricity comes from 100% renewables. Check out the certificate here.
Do you work in the Towers? If so, please refer to our heating instructions (PDF, 25kb) to make the most of the heating system.
What are we aiming for?
Energy
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Control, manage and reduce carbon emissions associated with our activities
- Purchase and utilise resources in a sustainable manner including energy and water
Our Carbon Reduction Targets
- Electricity - to reduce carbon emissions by 5% by 2013 and by 10% by 2020 from a 2005 baseline
- Gas - to reduce carbon emissions by 25% by 2013 and by 35% by 2020 from a 2005 baseline
Why is this important?
It's commonly agreed now that man's reliance on fossil fuels is causing climate change and air pollution. Reducing our carbon emissions wherever possible will help reduce the impact of the changes that may result from climate change. Raising the temperature of the planet means the increased likelihood of extreme weather conditions such as heatwaves and long winters with resultant flooding and droughts,failing crops and poor health. The resultant loss of species and habitat further exacerbates climate change and the whole cycle starts again.
On a local level, we could see increased flooding, warmer winters, drier summers and more unpredictable weather patterns.
On top of all this are the ever-increasing energy prices and the safety of the supply for the future. Every effort needs to be made to ensure the efficiency of the energy we import and also in the investigation and generation of clean energy and renewable energy technology.
By doing your bit to save energy at work you will be helping to secure the future economic success of the University.
Where are we now?
Between August 2010 to July 2011, our tutorial sites generated 7,949 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the use of electricity and gas. This means we are only 1,510 tonnes away from reaching our target for 2013 of 6,439 tonnes. Although overall, we reduced our emissions when compared to the previous year, our electricity consumption still increased.
Did you know that 7,949 tonnes of carbon dioxide is enough to fill the new Wembley Stadium almost 4 times over?
What are we doing?
- We are replacing our existing lighting fittings with LED lamps at Kedleston Road, along with automatic controls to ensure lamps are not burning unless they are needed.
- At Kedleston Road we have installed three different types of renewable energy. We are only the second place in the UK to have the particular model of wind turbines that we have on the south tower roof which are a horizontal axis design. The Quiet Revolution turbine on the main drive is a vertical axis turbine. This needs double the wind speed of the mini turbines on the roof to begin generating. This turbine qualifies for the Feed-in-Tarif which means we get money back for generating renewable energy. The photo-voltaic panels on the flat roof over the shops and the students union block cover 300 square metres of roof space and are performing better than expected. Generating over 20,000 units of electricity per year, these are generating the most electricity of all three technologies. With no moving parts, our PVs will generate electricity for up to 50 years.
- With support from our Environment Champions we are carrying out energy audits as part of an awareness campaign to influence behaviours of our staff and students.
- We have now completed a revised and updated Version of our Carbon Management Plan (PDF, 402kb), in which we have identified and calculated our baselines from other carbon emitting activities such as those from fuel from our own vehicles. Planned carbon reduction projects include draught proofing at the Buxton campus, the installation of voltage optimisation equipment where possible on our incoming electrical supplies and various measures which fall under the Travel Plan (PDF, 400 kb).
What you can do?
- Switch off all electrical items whenever you leave a room unoccupied and overnight. Last last person out? switch it out... (or off). It is a myth that switching fluorescent lights on and off uses more electricity than leaving them on all the time.
- Switch off your lights when the daylight provides enough lighting.
- If you see a flickering fluorescent tube, report it immediately to Estates Management (extension 1111) - they use more electricity in this condition than when they are working properly.
- If you are not using your PC for longer than an hour then turn it off for example when you go for lunch or to a meeting.
- Turn your monitor off whenever you leave a room. Leaving items on standby still uses energy.
- A PC monitor left on overnight wastes enough energy to laser print 800 A4 pages.
- Only switch a printer on when you need it. This saves energy and helps reduce office pollution.
- Make sure printers are off at weekends and holidays.
- Always turn off mobile phone chargers and don't leave them plugged in at the socket.
- Only use air conditioning when necessary. An air conditioned room will use three times the electricity of a naturally ventilated room.
- Adjust blinds to keep out direct sunlight and open windows before the sun reaches your room to reduce the need for air conditioning.
- If you have to use air conditioning, make sure doors and windows are kept closed to prevent the loss of cooled air.
- Never have both air conditioning and heating on at the same time.
- Switch off heating and lighting when possible to reduce heat gains.
