Electricity Waste in University essay

One of the most important questions is “What can we do to stop wasting electricity?” Today one can find a variety of methods to stop wasting electricity in the campuses. The simplest method is to turn off the light when students leave the room. In this case, it is necessary to provide the appropriate educational programs to all students who study in the university. For example, “the power company on Long Island works with a local school district to teach students how to cut down on energy use” (Power Company offers tips on reducing use of energy). The company offers special energy activity books and rulers, different posters and pamphlets to educate students, as well as effective teacher aid materials and lesson plans for the classes. The second simple method is to use daylight and never turn on the lighting during the day time. The third effective method to conserve electricity is the use of solar power (Cheng). The forth method is to turn off computer when they are not needed, or set them to standby. It will help to save about $75 per year on electricity, according to the opinion of the energy experts. The fifth method to conserve energy in the campus is to replace incandescent bulbs used by the students with effective screw-in fluorescent bulbs.  It will help to use 75% less energy. Moreover, these lamps last about eight times longer. The experts consider that it will help to reduce electric use and conserve electricity in the campus. The sixth method is concluded in the use of energy consumption databases. As universities and colleges are considered to be large-scale electric consumers, it is possible to implement energy saving strategies that are focused on the improved management of heating, lighting and electricity consumption. The energy use databases can help to track energy consumption by fuel type and to identify high-use facilities in the university (Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency). It is also recommended to install meters on every building of the campus in order to track electricity consumption in the university. It is clear that visible metering can help students, faculty and staff members to control and manage their electricity consumption and generating their awareness concerning the energy usage in the university (Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency).

It is known that rising electricity rates as well as electricity waste has enormous impact on the university tuition. In case the students waste electricity heedlessly, they will have higher tuition rate. It is found that the electricity which is used by the university or college is about 225,000 KWH and more per week which can be added to the total of 12,000,000 KWH per year. The statistics shows that about 30% of electricity used by the students, faculty and staff members goes to lighting within the university or college, and about 70% of electricity goes to other needs (Cheng).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it is necessary to say that electricity is an essential part of our life. Electricity is used for lighting and heating/cooling, running appliances and electronics. However, today many consumers do not think about their electricity waste until they get rather high utility bills, or learn about power outage. Universities and colleges are considered to be the large-scale consumers of electricity in the United States and in other countries of the world. As a rule, electricity is used for air conditioning and refrigerators, lighting and space/water heating and different powering appliances and equipment, including computers. There are many effective methods to reduce waste energy. The most effective methods include the use of solar power and energy saving methods. All the students, faculty and staff members should be aware of the necessity to conserve electricity.