Save Energy and Money Through Vigilance--An Example From Canada

People tend to think that using less energy means buying new stuff: a more efficient furnace or car, or installing solar panels or geothermal. These are all worthwhile investments, but as individuals and as a town, we could save tremendous amounts of energy and money simply through vigilance. Whether in schools, businesses or homes, there are lots of empty rooms being kept brightly lit for no one, empty buildings being kept optimally cooled or heated for no particular reason, and hot water heaters that could be turned down for vacations. An electrician who used to work at Princeton High School, for instance, said the school saved $30,000 in energy over a two month period through a coordinated effort by staff and students to reduce unnecessary energy use. That suggests annual savings in the six figures. Individual actions accumulate into collective impact, as can also be seen in the example below from a NY Times article about sustainability initiatives at Canadian universities.

"At the McGill Life Sciences Complex, students spearheaded a Shut Your Sash program, which encouraged lab users to close their fume hoods when they were not in use.

“The students set out to create behavior change in one campus building and they reduced energy consumption per hood by 80 percent,” said Dr. Krayer von Krauss, adding that the change saved 77,000 Canadian dollars, or $75,800, a year.

Students are now considering how the project can be rolled out in other laboratories, with the potential for another 1.3 million dollars in savings if they achieve the same rate of success."


In order to be strategic, it's best if one knows how much energy is being saved by any particular action. For example, if three lights are on in an unused room, and one wants to leave one on for ambient light, which one uses the least amount of energy? This means gaining familiarity with your personal collection of energy-using devices--everything from light bulbs to clothes dryers--the use or non-use of which contributes to our collective impact on the world and a shared future.