ENERGY CONSERVATION TIPS FOR HOME AND OFFICE

Since October is Alaska Energy Awareness Month and what else do we think about in October but Halloween and the coming of cold and snow, here are a few related energy efficiency tips. 

Energy Vampires Haunt Your Home and Office
Here's something you can do either at home or in the office.  If it's not too spooky, turn off all the lights and look around.  Do you see lots of lights still blinking at you in shades of green and red and blue?  These are energy vampires -- electronic devices that are using energy and wasting money even when not in use.

Also called "phantom load," energy vampires include anything with a standby mode, waiting for you to hit the remote.  It also includes chargers for all of your gadgets.  In the office, it includes equipment that needs warm-up time.  Here's a partial list of the vampires that may be in your life:

• TVs
• computers
• printers
• copiers
• CD and DVD players
• cable and satellite boxes
• Wiis and other game consoles
• cell phone chargers
• iPod chargers
• digital camera frames

The U.S. EPA estimates that these vampires consume about 6% of the energy used nationally.  All with no benefit to you! 

What can you do? First, turn off or unplug any electrical device when not in use.  Start by unplugging all chargers.
Then plug devices into power strips so you can easily flip one accessible switch to shut down several devices at once.  And be sure to purchase Energy Star rated electrical devices and appliances to use less electricity.

It's Dark Outside!
We know that Alaska starts getting really dark at this time of year, so we all go out and try to light it up.  What does that get us?  Higher electric bills.  To help light up without going broke, consider these ideas for both home and office.

When stringing holiday lights, more is not always better. A tasteful, thought-out display is often more appealing than just a whole lot of lights. Also, use LED lights. The colors are beautiful and vibrant and a string uses significantly less energy than traditional lights. Best of all, when you pull them out of the storage closet next year and the year after, they will still light up!

At home, put your holiday lights on a timer so they don't stay on all night and be sure to adjust the timer regularly throughout the winter season as the daylight changes. At the office, be sure to only have lights on during your business hours. This can be done manually or with a timer. Don't leave them on when no one's in the office.

MEMBER MOMENT: CENTRAL PENINSULA HOSPITAL

Green Star in Anchorage recently incorporated more than 20 members from the Kenai Peninsula into our membership after the Kenai Peninsula's Green Star chapter was discontinued.  The Central Peninsula Hospital (CPH) in Soldotna is one of these organizations and has been Green Star Award Certified since April 2009.

With 715 employees, getting the word out internally about the hospital's Green Star activities can be a challenge.  To reach its employees, CPH posted a visible Green Star policy at the main entrance as well as signs throughout the building.   The hospital also holds biannual events to educate staff and raise awareness.  These events include games and prizes to keep the topic fun.

One game, the bottle toss, in which employees stand by a waste container with a recycling bin about ten feet away. They then have 30 seconds to remove the tops from plastic bottles, drop the tops in the waste container and toss the bottles into the recycling bin. After staff first played this game, compliance in removing and disposing of bottle tops went from about 10% to 80%.

Jim Childers is the chairman of the CPH's Green Star team, but it was his team's efforts that made it possible for CPH to implement the Green Star standards.  The hospital's Green Star team has eight members and each member monitors a sub-committee.

Former Kenai Green Star Coordinator, Connie Ferguson, said "CPH's team worked hard to make the changes. Jim was the leader but he had a great committee with representatives from every department. They were all very motivated and committed to the goal of reducing the waste stream. When something was not working, they brainstormed and tried new things instead of complaining that the other employees were not complying."

CPH's Green Star team believes that the hospital's greatest accomplishment is recycling 30 tons of waste in one year. This includes paper, plastic and aluminum.  Glass recycling is currently in a pilot program phase within two departments. When the new recycling bins are installed, glass will be recycled throughout the building.

CPH representatives said the goal was to reduce waste by 50%.  The hospital will most likely reach 30% reduction by the end of July 2011. The baler and new custom recycling containers, which will be installed throughout the hospital in December, are key to reaching the hospital's waste reduction goal.

The hospital also is looking to identify space in its purchasing warehouse for a cardboard baler by January.  At that time, cardboard will be sent to the Lower 48 with Fred Meyer's cardboard.

Besides recycling initiatives, CHP is implementing many waste prevention and energy efficiency initiatives. CPH has started going paperless in its H.I.M. (medical records) and admissions areas. This is in the fledgling stage, but staff are currently scanning hundreds of records to accomplish this. In addition, the Board of Directors previously used a ream of paper per person for every meeting. CPH purchased ipads for all board members, saving a considerable quantity of paper.

All newly constructed areas of the hospital are using LED lighting. About 10% of the lighting in the hospital has now been switched to LED lighting. Other ways CPH is able to reduce the use of energy include turning lights off (security guards turn off unneeded lights at night and on weekends), installing automatic light sensors, and using well water to cool the building.

Keep up the good work Central Peninsula Hospital and welcome to Green Star!

 

Staff participated in seminars and workshops with topics such as community-level  planning for the Northwest's industrial future, implementing toxics reduction strategies in the northwest, carbon reduction mitigation opportunities, alternative chemical and supply-chain management, and advancing green business priorities. Staff also participated in stormwater site visits and learned about ocean acidification and its impacts on Puget Sound shellfish. 

Th conference offered an opportunity for Green Star staff to meet others working in the Northwest region to achieve the same pollution prevention and sustainability goals.