A message from Tony Motto, Energy Program manager

Walking around the University, I see many opportunities for saving energy.
As we face budget shortfalls, energy conservation becomes even more important; your departments can help bridge the budget gap. The Facilities Management Utilities Department constantly invests in new technologies that save energy, but these technologies can not take the place of personal habits that conserve energy. Three simple things that we can do — at no cost to the University — that will save energy dollars are:

• turn off the lights when you don’t need them — I’ll do this for you with a motion sensor, if you like;

• don’t use screen savers on your computer monitor [but set it to “go to sleep” when you’re not using it for a while]; and

• change incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent lamps.

Have you come across an interesting way of saving energy? Please send it to me and I’ll include it in our quarterly newsletter. Also, if you have any questions, please send me an e-mail at awm3g @virginia.edu. Thank you.

—Reprinted from Watt’s Happening, February 2002.