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Let’s Save Energy This Christmas

As we leave for the holidays, with some of us celebrating Christmas, it's important to be mindful about waste. We've created a checklist of what to turn off and keep on before leaving for the holidays, so read more to find out how to reduce energy waste.

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Last academic year (2022/23), we cut down our electricity consumption by 11.3% (3,970,862 kWh) and gas consumption by 8.8% (2,089,043 kWh) against 2018/2019 levels. This reduction, along with less business travel, has contributed to achieving our 30% carbon reduction target against the 2018/2019 baseline. 

This year, we are looking to maximise our energy and carbon reduction efforts and the Christmas shutdown period gives us the perfect opportunity to cut energy waste.  

Here is a quick checklist to follow before leaving for Christmas.

Please turn off: 

  • Office equipment
  • Kitchen appliances such as microwave ovens or coffee machines
  • Localised (not managed by Estates) heating equipment such as radiators, air conditioning and fans
  • Laboratory equipment (only to be turned off by approved laboratory technicians).
  • Lighting

Don’t forget to check that windows and blinds are closed around the building. For managed desktops, please logoff to allow your computer to continue to receive essential updates and it will remain active for you to be able to access remotely. 

Please do not turn off: 

  • Fridges/freezers (except empty)
  • Servers
  • Safety/monitoring equipment

 

Laboratories 

As a research-based university, laboratories make up a significant proportion of our energy spend. However, there are still a few simple ways of reducing energy usage: 

  • Close and, where possible, shut down your fume hood sash
  • Ensure your freezers are running well, defrosted, and samples are managed
  • Power down lab equipment wherever possible (check with laboratory technicians)
  • Switch off lighting wherever possible
  • Please do not turn off any safety/monitoring equipment
  • Don’t forget to switch off any office equipment in your lab

 

To get involved in more actions related to sustainability get in touch at sustainability@qmul.ac.uk.

 

 

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