Energy Efficiency Efforts

Ed Poppell, Vice President for Business Affairs

UF is kicking off its new energy efficiency campaign: Chomp Down on Energy. This campaign is designed to encourage faculty, staff and students throughout campus to ensure that lights and shared office equipment are turned off when they are not in use. In these budget constrained times, we must address the university’s energy bills. Last year alone, the university and Shands used over $40 million in electricity. With rates set to go up again this year, we cannot afford to waste on consumption.

UF Physical Plant Department, Facilities Planning and Construction and our Auxiliaries Maintenance staff are working hard to reduce energy use by managing building setbacks when spaces are unoccupied, retrofitting lighting systems, and doing maintenance and renovations to heating, ventilation and air condition systems across campus. To capture all possible savings, we need everyone to do their part. In order to promote full participation in this energy conservation effort, manuals and campaign materials, including light-switch stickers, to promote best practices for energy savings will be distributed to departments via Green Team Captains.

If your unit does not already have a Green Team Captain, I would ask you to consider nominating/appointing a person for your college, department or office. Please contact Ashley Pennington at 352-392-7578 or amp1986@ufl.edu with any questions, requests and/or to designate a captain.

The campaign officially begins on Monday, February 1, 2010. Thank you in advance for your commitment to support our ongoing energy conservation efforts.