SAVE Award 2011 Ideas

Cut the lights on vending machines. This could result in significant energy savings (and will muffle the siren song of those machines).

I drove by the Department of Education off of Penn Avenue one evening , around 8pm and there were so many lights on in the building I thought it was 8am. All government building lights should switched over to sensored lighting. It was disheartening to see all that money wasted to help people read and there are no people there to read. Let's start DOING!

We may be using Fluorescent light bulbs, but we should continue to alternate bulb use like we did prior to using Fluorescent light bulbs. We should keep some lights bulbs Off while others light bulbs are On (alternating bulbs). Thus still providing enough lighting to do the job while conserving Electricity; Reducing lighting where necessary.

ii suggest the Department initiate a "KILL" a WATT campaign encouraging employees to TURN OFF LIGHTS that are not being used, ESPECIALLY at the end of the workday before going home. i've noticed that DOJ staffers are in the habit of leaving desk lamps and muted TV's on overnight.

 

Thanks,

Saundra M. Callier

Office Manager - OLA

 

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Indoor lights are often left on in Federal buildings all night or week-end. People have varying schedules and generally do not take responsibility for turning lights out when they leave work. I recommend that after working hours, designated core lights be left on, but that most lights operate on a timer and/or motion detector.

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 »

I have over 2011 florescent light bulbs on my ship, the USCGC MELLON. Our data suggests that if we were to convert these lights from fluorescent lights to energy efficient light emitting diodes, we would "break even" in 16 months and save the Coast Guard 194,000 dollars over five years. If you translate that to the other 9 sister ships we have in this class alone, we would save 1.9 million dollars in fuel and power cost... more »

When dealing with a high energy bill at home most people will start turning things off if they are not used, such as the lights, computers, stereos, and entertainment systems.
Turn off the lights. Most government facilities do not run 24x7. Usually people are at work from around 6am to 6pm. that leaves 6pm to 6am where lights are on throughout the building. I know that the office space lights are usually turned off,... more »

Tie office overhead lights to your CAC card, similar to many hotels with their room keys. This way the lights would be on only when needed. Built in (DO NOT RETROFIT - TOO COSTLY) into new buildings programable light pads i.e. lights come on 0700 off 1700, after those hours you need to program time in 1 hr blocks manually for those who leave after hours. At least lights would not be on 24 hrs a day.