Were looking for programs that have reduced plug loads and that have data showing their effectiveness in doing so. Were interested in programs that have been conducted in offices, labs and student residences / homes. Were also looking for related benefits and barriers research. A summary of the resulting information will be made available through this listserv and will be posted on ToolsofChange.com. The information will be used by our consulting team, led by LURA, to assist the University of British Columbia with its campus sustainability program.
Specifically we are looking for programs that have targeted the following behaviors:
Labs
- More efficient freezer use
- Lower plug loads from bench equipment
- Use of computer power management features
Offices
- Use of computer power management features
- Shutting off idle equipment
Residences / homes
- Use of computer power management features
Jay Kassirer
Cullbridge Marketing, and Tools of Change
Canada
www.cullbridge.com
Hi Jay,
I look forward to seeing what results come back from your questions--it is always great to see good case studies.
But it seems likely that few to no behaviour change programs will be successful at the scale we would like for issues like plug loads. We would like 100% compliance, not 10-20% compliance.
In the office situation, there are two groups that can achieve that sort of compliance, IT and Purchasing. IT is pushing software updates down the pipe all the time; robust energy savings settings should be the default setting. If the user wants it different, they have to change away from it. Opt-outs always get better results than opt-ins.
As far as more efficient freezers and bench equipment, Purchasing controls that. There will the be the problem that Purchasing has a hard time spending more money when they don't reap the benefit of energy savings, but that is part of the system that needs changing.
In both cases, focussing on a handful of people will be much more effective than focussing on hundreds or thousands of people.
Ruben Anderson