Reduce Your Use

Reduce Your Use in the Office Video

HELP US REDUCE OUR USE.........

Check out the video above where Mark Skerritt, energy advisor with Optimising Power at Work, leads this presentation on Saving Energy in your Home Office, outlining points to consider for energy reduction in office environments including optimal use of the office printer, approaches to lighting use, heating and more.

Reduce Your Use Campaign 2023-2024 

Kilkenny County Council has signed up for the 2023/24 Reduce Your Use campaign. This is a voluntary initiative for the public sector as part of a whole-of-government national campaign to reduce energy use through the winter months. Running from October 2023 to March 2024, the campaign consists of a programme of themed activities being rolled out. To promote energy efficiency we encourage every service area and office to take simple measures to reduce energy use over the winter months. Please see some are some simple tips/actions below:

 Did you know?

• Every time you turn the heating up by 1°C the heating costs increase by approximately 8%.
• Lighting can account for up to 40% of a building's energy use. Turn off the lights when you leave the office.
• Using the power-saving mode on a photocopier can save up to 92% of its typical energy use.
• Turning off all non-essential equipment out of business hours can save up to 60% of office equipment energy costs.
• Driving just 10kph slower can save you up to 18% in fuel.

For more details on the campaign please click here 

Some interesting facts;

Did you ever know how much that old tumble dryer or freezer is costing you to run? If so, this quick tips sheet will show you how to make the electricity used by these devices “visible”.

There are a couple of devices that can make this process easier for you.

Energy Monitors – a display that shows the impact of turning a light or appliance on or off. It operates using a sensor which connects to your electrical supply box. Most monitors can be controlled using a phone app. For more information on energy monitors, please see here.

Plug-in Energy Monitor – A plug socket with a digital display that shows the energy usage of individual appliances. Please see this instructional video from Codema Energy Agency for further information.

Home Energy-saving Kit – Home energy-saving kits are available to rent from Waterford libraries. These kits contain several items which can help you to run a mini energy audit of your home. For more information, please visit this section of the Waterford Libraries website.

Good Old-Fashioned Maths – If you are interested in calculating the usage of a specific appliance yourself, the following formula may be applied once you have all information:

We have looked at a few quick ways in which we can save energy in our homes. Now, let’s look at how we can do our part to reduce our use in the office. There are hundreds of laptops and desktop computers across the Council, meaning energy savings can quickly multiply if we all do our part.

Ensuring your device is properly switched off at the end of each working day can help to tackle energy use. An Irish workplace survey from the SEAI found 30% of PCs are left powered on unnecessarily after business hours.

Set up power-saving mode. This is a quick way to ensure your device draws less power and extends battery life.

Unplug chargers when charging is complete. Idling electricity costs from plugged in devices can ramp up consumption and bills.

Below, you can see an example of how much can be saved by switching one device to energy-saving mode.

For more information on devices and appliances generally and for some practical guidance, please see this brief section of a webinar from SEAI.

Cost=power in Kw x run time in hours x cost of electricity per unit

Example: Immersion at 3kW x 2 hours x 0.39c = €2.34

Better understanding the costs associated with our appliance energy usage can help us to become more conscious of our consumption. Making the change to powering something down fully or switching off at the socket can help you to save money and do your bit for the planet.

A few more tips:

Kilkenny County Council is taking action to address climate change. Our vision is that we will be a climate-resilient organisation that inspires and supports the county’s transition to a biodiversity rich, sustainable and climate neutral economy by 2050. Check out our introductory video to find out some examples of what Kilkenny is working on to address Climate Change.