Sustainability
K-STATE DEPARTMENTAL ECOREP PROGRAM
ECOREP
UPDATE
May 2012
TIP OF THE MONTH:
How many printers is your office
or department operating? Are they all necessary? Having an
unnecessary amount of printers can contribute to office waste and
energy consumption. Consider routing all office or department
computers to one central printer to conserve energy and save on
ink cartridge costs. Set up the communal printer in a central
location in your office or department to encourage your
co-workers to occasionally get away from their desks.
FROM CASEY LAUER’S DESK
What does it cost for each employee to have a refrigerator in his or
her office?
Approximately $54/yr per fridge in electricity costs.
What does it cost to leave the computer monitor on all of the
time?
Leaving an LCD computer monitor on 24/7/365 = $28/yr in electricity costs.
We probably have 20,000 computers plugged in on campus, both personal
and work related.
How much does one more degree of heat cost? Is it less costly to
add a fan to circulate the heat rather than raising the
temperature?
This is a very complex question, one in which I made some assumptions to
arrive at my answer. The cost of one degree of conditioned air (heat and/or
cool) per day in each building is $6.80. The average building is 40,000 square
feet. The cost of one degree of conditioned air (heat and/or cool) per day on
campus is $373. It is less costly to circulate air with a fan, assuming the
fan is turned off when the space is unoccupied.
Is it better to maintain constant temperatures or to
raise/lower the temperatures in offices? How much
could we save by lowering the overnight and weekend
temperatures by five degrees?
Temperature setback is always more energy efficient than
maintaining constant temperatures. Assuming a 40 hour
workweek, an office building is only occupied for 24% of the time.
The remaining time can be setback, and this normally results in a
12% savings over constant temperatures. We have setback
capabilities in some buildings, but due to intensive and sensitive
research, it becomes nearly impossible in some buildings. On
average, if we set back every building on campus, we could save $400,000/yr,
but this isn't practical. For office spaces and typical administrative buildings,
a typical setback would result in about $5,500/yr in energy savings.
Your EcoRep Awards
Committee selected three
awardees for the inaugural
K-State Campus Sustainability
Awards. Awardees were
recognized for their outstanding achievement in promoting
and advocating sustainability on the K-State campus and within
the Manhattan community. K-State Dining Services, Lee
Skabelund, associate professor of landscape architecture and regional and community
planning, and Students for Environmental Action were honored for their influential
work and dedication to sustainability at KSU Bike Day May 2 on Bosco Student Plaza.