Campaign It's your turn
Centralised measures and individual behaviour add up to noticeable energy savings. Every single contribution counts
"Du regelst das" (which means “It's your turn”) appears in large letters on the banner that will be prominently displayed at Musisches Zentrum in the coming weeks, to catch the eye of everyone coming from or going to Unibrücke. The images – a heating thermostat, a light switch, a frozen icebox in a refrigerator and a switched-off PC – exemplify what each and every individual can control at work and at home. Together with another picture, namely that of a microwave, they are at the heart of an information campaign for RUB members. The message is: it’s up to the users.
Every little saving helps.
Robert Grosche
We’ll be encountering the thermostats, off switches and light switches, microwaves and refrigerators everywhere on campus – on posters, banners, digital pillars, on the web and in a new series featuring energy-saving tips on the RUB news portal. Their purpose is to remind us what we can do every day to do our bit. “Every little saving helps,” says Dr. Robert Grosche, standing deputy to the chancellor for building and facilities management and departmental head for building management and operations.
“Our centralised measures, for example to control ventilation systems or lighting in the buildings, and the actions of individual users add up to a sensible approach,” explains Grosche. The collective goal is a saving of 20 per cent compared to the previous year.
Tips for everyday life
What can each and every one of us do? Here are the examples from the campaign:
- Simply by lowering the room temperature by 2 degrees – from 21 to 19 – we can save 12 per cent of our energy consumption at RUB. Since this cannot be controlled from a central location, it’s literally up to each and every one of us.
- Off instead of stand-by: switch off your PC and other devices for good, especially at the end of the working day and before the weekend.
- Electricity is most expensive at lunchtime: between 12 noon and 2 p.m. it’s best to switch off all appliances that are not in use.
- Microwaves are massive power drains, so consider an alternative, for example having a cold meal.
- Regular defrosting saves up to 50 per cent of a refrigerator’s electricity consumption.
The campaign will be continued next spring with new designs. This is partly because the current energy crisis won’t be limited to the winter, and also because the RUB’s high electricity consumption throughout the year means that concrete tips for saving electricity will also be needed outside of the heating season. So: It's your turn – in summer, too.