SAVE Award 2011 Ideas

I recommend that all federal agencies would work 4 days 10 hours each. This way the government will have a total of 3 days without using the resources it takes to run the buildings, i.e. electric, water usage, cooling/heating, etc.

Turn off equipment that is not in use. When possible unplug equipment not in use. This will save energy and costs thtat are now wasted.

What savings is it to turn off those lights of the computer monitors, coffee machines, phone chargers, heaters, fans, etc. stay plugged in. At home I have instituted "Green Switch" that turns off everything that I don't need on when I'm gone. At work it could be as easy as plugging non essential things into a power strip and linking that to a wall switch. As you leave you can flip it off and voilà, you have instant energy... more »

Shut down computer monitors during off hours. The average monitor uses 55 watts per hour. If the average off time was ten hours then: That would be 550 watts a day, 17050 watts a month, 200,750 watts a year that is wasted. If you time that by $.13 per Kwh, that is $26.10 per monitor a year. That is a lot of money throughout the US. Just on my base alone we can save $17829.82 a year.

Energy Audits are complete for a large number of federal facilities. These energy audits produced numerous recommendations that can produce savings at a rapid rate. Some of these measures will pay for themselves in less than a year and begin saving money after that point and far into the future.

All measures with a payback of less than five years should be implemented immediately. These energy savings measures will... more »

Industry partners are taking advantage of an energy program they call load curtailment. In a nutshell, the load curtailment season runs from June to May typically, so we missed 2011. The company, agency in this case, would be given a sum of money to participate in this program by reducing energy use during peak periods when and if the power company requested the participant to do so. In the agreement, it allows the power... more »

Our small office received 2 catalogs. This seems to be a major waste of money producing the catalog and mailing. This catalog should be posted on the internet for easy access.

Institutions print out call-outs / change sheets for inmates to view every day. One copy may contain up to 25 pages of entries. As many as 75 copies are made each day for posting in various areas for inmates to read. This accounts for as much as 13125 pages of printed material for one week at one institution. If you two side print the document, it still amounts to 6563 printed pages of material per week for one institution.... more »

Refine the Federal security clearance process by establishing (1) federal agency responsible for adjudicating all federal security clearance investigations government-wide. I recommend the entire security clearance operation be transferred to the Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security will have direct IT access or work with various Federal agencies and local law enforcement to complete the entire adjudication... more »

I believe a great way the government could save energy and money would be to put in motion sensored lights. This would work especially well in restrooms, hallways and administrative offices. We would no longer have to rely on employees to turn the lights off. As long is someone is in the office working, in the restroom or walking down a hallway the lights are on. When you exit the area the lights go off. A great... more »

There is an easy and quick way for all Government agencies and organizations to reduce costs immediately! Let’s all move our thermostats up one degree in the summer and down one degree in the winter. I have worked in many Government buildings in my career where I have been cold in the summer and hot in the winter. As a couple of examples, we could save a lot in our facilities costs If we just move the A/C to come on... more »