After just two months into the Switch Your Thinking Chancellor’s Challenge, UT Knoxville faculty, staff, and students have helped to reduce the campus’s overall energy consumption by an average of 1.5 percent.
In March, the campus’s consumption was down by 2.2 percent, a decrease of more than 400,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. The university is tracking progress by comparing each month’s total kilowatt hours to the combined average of the same month for the two previous years.
You can track our progress throughout the yearlong challenge on the Switch Your Thinking website.
So far, the decrease in usage represents approximately $32,800 in avoided costs for February and March.
In January, Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek challenged the campus to change individual behaviors in an effort to shrink our consumption by an additional 10 percent this calendar year. The data shows that faculty, staff, and students are really switching their thinking.
Have You Switched Your Thinking?
It’s as easy as turning off the lights when you leave your office and taking the stairs to avoid using the elevator. Across campus, many faculty, staff, and students are helping to set an example by switching their thinking in a variety of ways.
As the weather warms up, TVA’s peak times rate structure will play a more important role in how you can help the campus save on energy costs. Remember to take advantage of natural light and avoid scheduling meetings after 2:00 p.m. when possible.
Tell us what you’re doing to switch your thinking by e-mailing rwinkler@utk.edu.