Save Energy. Climate-Neutrality by 2030!
Dear members of the university community,
Winter is just around the corner and with it the cosy warmth of our offices and the bright lights of the lecture halls!
Despite the worse weather conditions at this time of the year, we as a university have set ourselves the goal of using our energy as sustainably as possible. In recent years, the energy crisis forced us to cut back on our electricity and heating consumption, primarily for economic reasons. “Saving energy" has always had a negative connotation that was linked to painful cuts (remember the debate about room temperatures of 18 degrees Celsius).
In order to advocate a conscious use of energy in line with the university's Sustainability Strategy, together with numerous colleagues, I would like to encourage you to play your part. The following is important to me: We are once again in need of a positive narrative about why the conscious use of electricity and heat is so important. Instead of pointing fingers and making cuts that leave us bitterly cold, as the faces of this campaign, we would like to approach the topic from a more relaxed perspective and raise awareness for the simplest cost-cutting measures on a small scale, which can still have a major impact on the university as a whole.
In recent weeks, the University of Greifswald launched a poster campaign to this end. I am delighted that so many colleagues have taken up this issue, lending their names to the campaign. Whether you are a professor, lecturer, employee or student, we all can help our university achieve its climate goals!
Let’s join forces and ensure our resources are used sustainably and as a university take a step towards climate neutrality by 2030.
Lukas Voigt - Student Pro-Rector
Dear members of the university community,
Winter is just around the corner and with it the cosy warmth of our offices and the bright lights of the lecture halls!
Despite the worse weather conditions at this time of the year, we as a university have set ourselves the goal of using our energy as sustainably as possible. In recent years, the energy crisis forced us to cut back on our electricity and heating consumption, primarily for economic reasons. “Saving energy" has always had a negative connotation that was linked to painful cuts (remember the debate about room temperatures of 18 degrees Celsius).
In order to advocate a conscious use of energy in line with the university's Sustainability Strategy, together with numerous colleagues, I would like to encourage you to play your part. The following is important to me: We are once again in need of a positive narrative about why the conscious use of electricity and heat is so important. Instead of pointing fingers and making cuts that leave us bitterly cold, as the faces of this campaign, we would like to approach the topic from a more relaxed perspective and raise awareness for the simplest cost-cutting measures on a small scale, which can still have a major impact on the university as a whole.
In recent weeks, the University of Greifswald launched a poster campaign to this end. I am delighted that so many colleagues have taken up this issue, lending their names to the campaign. Whether you are a professor, lecturer, employee or student, we all can help our university achieve its climate goals!
Let’s join forces and ensure our resources are used sustainably and as a university take a step towards climate neutrality by 2030.
Lukas Voigt - Student Pro-Rector
Screen off?
Even in standby mode, technical devices continue to consume electricity. This may not seem like much for a single monitor, but with hundreds of computers at the university, it adds up to a significant amount of energy consumption every night that can easily be avoided.
If devices are no longer in use, e.g. at the end of the working day or at the weekend, they should be switched off at the mains or by unplugging them.
Better to leave the lights on?
Even if you are only leaving a room for a short time, switch off any unnecessary lights. This applies not only to your own office but also to corridors, toilets, etc. The myth that it is better to leave fluorescent lamps on as turning them off leads to higher electricity consumption is not true.
Switching off the lights pays off from the very first second. So: switch off the room’s lights for your short walk to the printer or toilet.
Radiators constantly on 5?
Putting your radiator on level 5 will not warm your room up any faster. The numbers on the dial only determine a target temperature. It is therefore sufficient to set your radiator to level 3 if you would like to set a comfortable room temperature. That corresponds roughly to a target temperature of 20 degrees. However, you should not switch off your heating completely at the end of the working day or when you are away on holiday. Instead, we recommend that you set your radiator to level 2, otherwise the buildings will cool down too much.
The numbers on the radiator dial can be roughly interpreted as follows:
1: 12 °C - Is there anyone out there who feels comfortable at this temperature?
2: 16 °C - Perfect at the end of the day!
3: 20 °C - We’re going to nail climate neutrality! (+100 aura)
4 24 °C - In summer you would be sweating at this temperature.
5. 28 °C - Hate to tell you: it doesn't get warmer any faster.
Snowflake: Frost protection setting (6 °C)
Half moon: Night temperature (14 °C)
Sun: Default setting (20 °C)
Good to know! While the radiator is on, you should close your windows and doors. The radiators must be switched off during ventilation.
Does that really need printing?
A huge amount is printed at a university! Apart from paper, toner is probably the most significant consumable when printing documents. The impact on the university’s carbon footprint is enormous. What's more, toners are anything but cheap. Sustainable and economical toners and a sparing use of toners therefore protect the environment and save us a lot of money.
It is not always possible to avoid printing. The following saves a lot of paper and toner with just a few clicks:
- Duplex printing: When printing, simply switch to duplex (double-sided printing). This reduces the required amount of paper by 50 per cent.
- Black and white printing: In many situations, colour printing is not really necessary. It is often only the logos or similar that are displayed in colour on the printouts. Black and white printing can further reduce the unnecessary use of toner just for logos in colour. It's the quantity that counts!
- Draft/fast print mode: If you select draft or fast print mode on your printer, you can save up to a fifth of the required ink. Hardly any difference will be evident on the printout itself. Unless you are printing important, representative documents, draft mode is perfectly adequate.
Radiators constantly on 5?
Putting your radiator on level 5 will not warm your room up any faster. The numbers on the dial only determine a target temperature. It is therefore sufficient to set your radiator to level 3 if you would like to set a comfortable room temperature. That corresponds roughly to a target temperature of 20 degrees. However, you should not switch off your heating completely at the end of the working day or when you are away on holiday. Instead, we recommend that you set your radiator to level 2, otherwise the buildings will cool down too much.
The numbers on the radiator dial can be roughly interpreted as follows:
1: 12 °C - Is there anyone out there who feels comfortable at this temperature?
2: 16 °C - Perfect at the end of the day!
3: 20 °C - We’re going to nail climate neutrality! (+100 aura)
4: 24 °C - In summer you would be sweating at this temperature.
5: 28 °C - Hate to tell you: it doesn't get warmer any faster.
Snowflake: Frost protection setting (6 °C)
Half moon: Night temperature (14 °C)
Sun: Default setting (20 °C)
Good to know! While the radiator is on, you should close your windows and doors. The radiators must be switched off during ventilation.
Screen off?
Even in standby mode, technical devices continue to consume electricity. This may not seem like much for a single monitor, but with hundreds of computers at the university, it adds up to a significant amount of energy consumption every night that can easily be avoided.
If devices are no longer in use, e.g. at the end of the working day or at the weekend, they should be switched off at the mains or by unplugging them.
Better to leave the lights on?
Even if you are only leaving a room for a short time, switch off any unnecessary lights. This applies not only to your own office but also to corridors, toilets, etc. The myth that it is better to leave fluorescent lamps on as turning them off leads to higher electricity consumption is not true.
Switching off the lights pays off from the very first second. So: switch off the room’s lights for your short walk to the printer or toilet.
Does that really need printing?
A huge amount is printed at a university! Apart from paper, toner is probably the most significant consumable when printing documents. The impact on the university’s carbon footprint is enormous. What's more, toners are anything but cheap. Sustainable and economical toners and a sparing use of toners therefore protect the environment and save us a lot of money.
It is not always possible to avoid printing. The following saves a lot of paper and toner with just a few clicks:
- Duplex printing: When printing, simply switch to duplex (double-sided printing). This reduces the required amount of paper by 50 per cent.
- Black and white printing: In many situations, colour printing is not really necessary. It is often only the logos or similar that are displayed in colour on the printouts. Black and white printing can further reduce the unnecessary use of toner just for logos in colour. It's the quantity that counts!
- Draft/fast print mode: If you select draft or fast print mode on your printer, you can save up to a fifth of the required ink. Hardly any difference will be evident on the printout itself. Unless you are printing important, representative documents, draft mode is perfectly adequate.
