July Energy Focus - Air Conditioning - 07/14/09

JULY BROWN BAGGER REMINDER:
Don't forget to join us for our first Brown Bagger featuring Greg Noyes, with Rocky Mountain Power; it will start at NOON on Thursday, 16 Jul 2009 in the sixth floor main conference room. Special cool treats are in store for all those that participate. There will also be prizes for participation and energy knowledge. Come on down for a fun and educational time while you enjoy your lunch or just to learn and have some fun.

think!ENERGY AIR CONDITIONING TIP OF THE MONTH:
For every degree you turn the thermostat above 78 degrees, you can reduce cooling costs by 8% or more! Set your air conditioning settings at or above 78 degrees during the day and 82 degrees at night! If you don't have a programmable thermostat, try to purchase one. If you do have one, you can save as much as 10% to 15% a year on your cooling and heating bills. Some people are saving up to $100 per year! Use a ceiling fan or portable fan to supplement your air conditioning. A fan can make you feel 3-4 degrees cooler (and only costs a half-cent per hour to operate). Try to wash and dry clothes, iron and cook in the morning or later in the evening. Use microwave ovens, which produce less heat than stoves for cooking.

These few tips are simple things we already know but when you are reminded you remember more often to actually do them!

JULY ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION WINNER IS...BRIGID CARNEY!

Brigid has won a fabulous energy saving kit for her home. So far our two week miles saved total is over 1003 miles! Keep putting your miles in the box, we'll have another drawing in 2 weeks.

We would also like to acknowledge the first SITLA Energy STAR!!

Lisa Schneider has taken the think!Energy challange and ran with it (as she so offen does). She has challanged herself to change her office behavior in the name of engergy conservation. Lisa is now making it a habit of turning her office light off when she leaves the room and has voluntarily defaulted her printer settings to double sided printing; saving 50% of her paper consumption. The think!ENERGY Team would like to thank Lisa for stepping up to the challenge and for taking enegy conservation into your own hands! We would like to encourage all of you to follow her lead!

Email Jessica or Sonja with your nomination for next months SITLA Energy STAR!

July Alternative Transportation, RMP Brown Bag: 7/1/09

Greetings SITLA Energy Thinkers:

Challenge of the Month:
Today, July 1, marks the beginning of our Alternative Transportation Challenge. Alternative forms of transportation include; Bus, Trax, Carpool, Bicycle, Walking & Telecommute. For the month of July, keep track of your alternative transportation miles saved and enter into our biweekly drawing for an energy prize. Winners will be posted on this blog in the comming weeks, so check back soon. Employees at the main office: Fill out a form each day you use alternative transportation and drop it in the labeled container located by Alice at the front desk. Employees at branch offices: Send an email to Swallace@utah.gov (Sonja Wallace) with your name and the miles traveled each day you commute and Sonja will fill out the form for you.

Brown-Bag of the Month:
Each month we will be holding a themed energy brown-bag lunch event to educate each of you on different strategies and ideas of how to conserve energy & increase energy efficiency at work & at home. July's theme is Air Conditioning. A cooling system is one of the biggest energy guzzlers in your home (second only to your heating system). Join us Thursday, July 16 @ noon, in the large 6th floor conference room, for our first guest speaker. Greg Noyes, with Rocky Mountain Power, will discuss energy efficiency, rebates and conservation tips. Please RSVP so we know who to expect...treats may be provided.

*** Note: If we have interest from the field offices we can set up a video conference to allow you all to join in. Please contact Jessica or Sonja to arrange this.

SITLA thinkENERGY! Suggestions:
Many SITLA staff members have express interest in a need for bike rack. We are currently looking into options and possibly working with Boyer to purchase one for the building, but in the meantime we offer this solution; On the 2nd floor of the parking garage there is a no-parking zone (it overlooks the east exit of the 1st level), the railing in this area can be used as a secure* place to lock you bike. (*SITLA is not responsible for stolen bikes).

Do you know.....
Do you know what the difference between energy conservation & energy efficiency?
Two main ways to save energy are energy conservation & energy efficiency. Many people think these terms mean the same thing but they are different.

Energy conservation is any behavior that results in the use of less energy. Turning the lights off when you leave the room and recycling aluminum cans are both ways of conserving energy.

Energy efficiency is the use of technology that requires less energy to perform the same function. A compact fluorescent light bulb that uses less energy than an incandescent bulb to produce the same amount of light is an example of energy efficiency. The decision to replace an incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb is an example of energy conservation.

Each and everyone of us is capable of adopting both energy conservation and efficiency into our daily lives! Challenge yourself to become BOTH!