Campus News

February 2, 2011

Take Note

Energy savings up from holiday turndown

During the holidays while the University was closed and many building occupants absent, Emory turned down thermostats to reduce energy costs. Over two four-day periods, thermostats in 32 major campus buildings and residence halls were set to 50 degrees.

The joint effort between Emory’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives and Campus Services enabled the University to save approximately $30,000, roughly twice that of last year.

The increased savings from this year’s holiday turndown can be attributed to expanding the number of buildings participating.

“We had about 80 percent more square footage than last year,” says Ciannat Howett, director of sustainability initiatives. “We hope to continue to expand the number of buildings in the holiday turndown in the future as we increase the number of buildings participating in the weekend and evening turndown program throughout the year.”

In addition to cost savings, Emory:

• Saved as much energy as used by 24 typical American houses for one year (12,733kWh/house/year); and

• Reduced emissions of CO2 that are equivalent to taking 57 vehicles off the road for a year  (11,260lb CO2/vehicle/year). 

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