Encourage the following actions in your department on an ongoing basis, to help cultivate a culture of energy conservation.

Action 1: Turn Off the Lights

• Turn off the lights when leaving shared spaces or private offices for more than 15 minutes.
• Remind the last person in the office to turn off the lights at the end of the day.
• Model the behaviour yourself!
• If lights are consistently left on, send a friendly email to your colleagues reminding them to turn off the lights.
• Recognize good energy conservation efforts.

Action 2: Power Down Electronic Devices

Computers and Monitors

• Turn off computer monitors at the end of the day at all times.
• Whenever possible, turn off computers at the end of the day.

Shared Office Equipment

• Turn on power save modes on office equipment like photocopiers and printers.
• Plug multiple items into a power bar and turn it off at the end of the day.
• Whenever possible, turn off and/or unplug shared electronic equipment and appliances like copiers, printers, microwaves and coffee machines.
• Use electrical timers to schedule on and off times for copiers, fax machines and coffee machines to reduce phantom power.

Action 3: Manage Heating and Cooling Needs

• Encourage your colleagues to avoid using personal space heating and cooling devices that waste energy.
• Instead, encourage colleagues to dress appropriately for warm and cool weather, and be a model sweater wearer in the winter.
• If your building is too hot or too cold, get your administrator to submit an online Trouble Call using the Building Operations Customer Request Form to address the issue.
• Close all windows, blinds and curtains before leaving the office at the end of the day, to reduce your building’s heating and cooling costs.

Did You Know?

• Screen savers are not energy savers. Modern flat screen monitors do not need screen savers. To save energy, turn off your monitor when not in use.
• Many electronic devices, such as computers, monitors, cell phone chargers, microwaves, power cords and televisions, continue to draw power even when they are left unplugged or when they appear to be 'off'. To save energy, plug non-essential electronic equipment into a power bar and turn off at the end of your workday.

Resources

• Department Energy Conservation Action Plan Template
• Energy Conservation Myths and Fact Sheet
• Common Barriers to Energy Conservation in the Workplace