Please note that suggestions are being solicited to involve the campus community in the budget process to the greatest extent possible, and that proposed suggestions for cost-saving measures are being posted in the interest of promoting a free exchange of ideas. To that end, all suggestions received through the Budget Website except those that are malicious or contain information known to be untrue or misleading will be posted. The posting of these ideas, however, does not constitute their endorsement.
As of March 30, 2009
Is it possible to turn off the Jumbo Tron at
Kinnick??
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Everynight at the current Studio
Arts building (Old Menards), the Menards sign is lit up at the corner of the
enterance. During the day it appears white, but with the light on, it clearly
displays Menards. If the university is footing the bill for the energy
consumption out at this location, I’m not quite sure why it is paying to light
up a sign for Menards every night. I’m sure it doesn’t cost a whole lot, but at
the same time I know that a lot of little expenses add up to a lot of money. It
would probably be an easy fix to shut the timer off or disconnect this sign
unless of course Menards is paying for night-time
advertisement.
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Turn off the heat or dial
back the thermostat at UIHC Old Capitol Center by March 20th of each year. The
space holds more than 300 energy-consuming fax machines, printers, computers
that throw off lots of heat. When the weather is mild and the heat continues to
pour into the space, we are forced to rely on personal fans to cool off thereby
using even more energy in an attempt to do our work. It is easier to put on a
sweater than it is to get comfortable in an overheated space. Surely something
can be done.
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The government of India has
done studies (and so has NASA) that have found that having 3 kinds of plants
inside a building can filter the air and improve air quality, saving 15% on
building energy costs and boosting productivity by up to 20%. The air quality in
Iowa is probably a lot better than India’s, so we probably use less energy to
process a building’s air supply, but if we’re looking at ALL ways to save money,
then this should be explored.
Video presentation of India’s study:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/kamal_meattle_on_how_to_grow_your_own_fresh_air.html
NASA’s study:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/1837156/NASA-Indoor-Plants
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As of March 23, 2009
I suggest eliminating the Power Plant whistle. This whistle is VERY loud and disrupts the otherwise calm and peaceful University of Iowa atmosphere that we all enjoy. I suggest saving the money it takes to run the whistle and do away with this tradition.
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For help in reducing utility costs/overhead expenses, engage different parts of our University in competition with rewards to those who reduce, for example, energy consumption by the greatest percentage or reduce travel expenses by the greatest percentage.
We could have the dorms each competing against each other. Could have
different academic units competing against each other or occupants of UI
buildings on campus. Rewards could be monetary OR free tickets to UI events OR
extra 4 hours of vacation time awarded to winners. Make it
fun.
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This has probably already been suggested, but turn off the Kinnick Stadium
scoreboards during the off-season. There is no reason to have flashing ads
displayed on the boards if there are no eyeballs in the stadium to see them. On
days when there might be activities in the stadium, then the boards could be
turned on again.
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1. Turn off the flood lights, without exceptions, on any UI bldg, stadium, etc, with a façade that’s lit up for the sake of, what? And especially on the Pentacrest’s Capitol building and the UIHC General Hospital tower. It’s an inexcusable waste of money in these times and cannot be justified. Turning off every computer at night is pittance compared to the waste of electricity used by these flood lights.
2. Install motion-detection lighting systems everywhere. Hall lighting in after-hours closed buildings should be cut in half if they have to remain on at all.
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I believe a great way to cut costs at the U of I is to go the solar route – instead of replacing old single-pane windows, place energy efficient solar screens over them. They keep in the heat during winter and cut the heat from coming in during the summer, saving money on utilities, and also would render shades unnecessary for these windows (i.e., Solar Screens of Iowa).
Another important money saver that many others have suggested is telecommuting. This is a win-win situation for the University and the employee! There are entire areas that could simply work at home, with only a skeleton crew working at the University to maintain the work flow, etc. Centralized Transcription Service is a prime example of this: With PcAnywhere software and high-speed DSL, this is something that can easily be done at home 100% of the time, or several days of the week. The employee is more productive, there is a huge savings as only a small room would be required for the skeleton staff, parking opens up as the employees are at home, and sick time/vacation time takes a serious nosedive.
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From the Facilities management Web site
http://energy.uiowa.edu/renewableenergy.htm
Hydroelectric capabilities: The Power Plant was built in the 1920s and enclosed an existing hydroelectric facility. The hydroelectric facility continued to generate power until the 1960s, when the unit was shut down and the equipment removed. However, the structural portion of this facility is still inside the Power Plant and would support installation of hydroelectric generation equipment. An initial study has confirmed that it would be possible to restore hydroelectric generation to the Power Plant. We would expect about 500-KW of renewable energy would be generated from a restored hydroelectric generator.
Could a corporate sponsor or some type fund raising program or arrangement provide some of the funding to re-install the hydroelectric generator?
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There are many large, flat roofs on campus buildings. Would the use of solar panels for electricity and/or hot water make economical sense over the long run in this part of the country? This probably requires a large initial expense and a slow return on the investment. However, there may be federal funds available to help with the installation expense.
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Parking ramp 4, where employees park (near field house entrance) there are
heat lamps and heated elevators, can we shut those off to conserve energy and
cost? I have been out there multiple times in the past month and I do not feel
they are necessary.
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I was just writing to let you know of an idea that I believe could save the
University money. After a recent visit to a hotel, I noticed that they had
installed motion sensors in every room. This motion sensor is connected to the
heating/air conditioning unit. The unit will then be shut off after no motion is
detected. I can’t share a whole lot more knowledge about this, but if it’s cost
effective for a hotel, I assume it would be cost effective for the school, so
long as it works with the schools current heating/cooling system. Anyway, I hope
that if this has not been researched in the past, that it is helpful
information.
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Rather than spend the 1.5 million for a temp boiler lets follow the example
of Ball State University. They have started a project to drill 3,750 wells, each
400 feet deep, to tap the earth’s constant temperature for campus heating and
cooling. The geothermal conversion project will eliminate the university’s coal
fired boilers and 85,000 tons of carbon dioxide production a year. On a smaller
scale a ground source heat pump system could be implemented on one building at a
time.
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My suggestion is to place some of these Swift Wind Turbines on campus to
reduce energy consumption.
Swift Wind Turbine Home Page:
http://www.swiftwindturbine.com/?r=1
Swift Wind Turbine Videos:
http://www.swiftwindturbine.com/videos.php
Federal Incentives:
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/repi/
State Incentives:
http://www.dsireusa.org/
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I would like to simply reinforce all of the great ideas already suggested
through the budget group web site targeting energy curtailment and a reduction
of lighting. Implementing a handful of these very simple, “low-hanging fruit”
ideas can drastically cut energy costs over the course of even a few short
months. Let’s work to reduce lighting and “power down” in all buildings across
campus all year long not only in an effort to be more sustainably minded and
reduce global warming, but to save the university some
money!
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Increase efficiency in utilities, especially in the older buildings. My
office (in North Hall) is excessively hot, and I have no choice but to open the
window even on the coldest winter days just to make the temperature bearable.
There are likely many similar stories across the
campus.
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Consider enforcing the rule against portable heaters. This would probably
save quite a bit!
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I suggest that all personal refrigerators using University utilities be
unplugged and taken home. Refrigerators that serve departmental needs, or are
shared among larger staff numbers, or necessary due to ADA accommodation, would
ideally be energy efficient models. Having been in a flooded building, I was
amazed at the number of small dorm size refrigerators that needed to be emptied
before the building was taken off line. Those of us who bring our lunch (and
that number will probably increase due to the economy) could use thermal bags
with ice packs.
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I believe that the Campus Theatre renovation in the Old Capitol Center was
abandoned due to budget – however, there are several large lights visibly
burning as you look at the front entrance of the former theatres. Small savings,
but every savings counts.
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This summer should be “The Summer That Feels Like Summer.” We are all Iowans
who own shorts, the thermostats should be cranked up and employees should be
encouraged to dress accordingly. It would be great for the environment, save
money, and provide an opportunity to experience real Iowa
weather.
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Not sure if it would save tons of money but going to all motion sensor
lighting instead of turning lights on and off they would just be used when
people are in buildings or classrooms.
Also, could we eliminate telephones in
offices. So much is now done on cell phones and by
email.
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A way to aid energy cost reductions would be to cap the heating and cooling temperatures in buildings. As it is, individuals typically don’t dress for the weather anymore. Let’s investigate the cost savings from setting thermostats at 74 in the summer and 68-70 in the winter. Wear warmer clothes in the winter and get a desk fan for the summer.
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My suggestion for saving money is to turn the A/C up a couple of degrees in the summer. For those areas with a formal dress code, institute the “short-sleeve business shirt” exception (some major companies did this same thing last summer, I remember reading about it in the paper). Then people still look professional and can avoid sweating.
I for one think people over-chill buildings in the summer when we could all
dress a bit more reasonably and save some money in the
process.
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It’s so nice that the U is asking
for our ideas to help. I don’t know about anyone else but since this whole
stinky budget thing is affecting all of use, it’s good to have some input into
ways to help. I have several ideas I would like to share:
1. LIGHTING - I suggest every building on campus turn off at least half their lights during working hours. I never understood why it’s only during the summer when we are asked to curtail our energy usage. That just doesn’t make any sense to me. We should be trying to save money all year long. This is a no-brainer. Most offices with windows shouldn’t need to use any additional lighting except on dreary days and when it’s dark outside. In our office, there is no reason to have all the hall lights on and both lights on in each office. This would apply to residence halls, too. ALL buildings on campus.
2. ELECTRONICS – All employees and students should be encouraged (by a HUGE campaign) to turn off monitors, printers, copiers, computers, etc when they are done using them. I can see that computers might need to stay on in the ITC labs and libraries but there is no reason why the monitor shouldn’t be shut off after each user is done with it. Turning off these electronics would be a big money-saver for the U.
3. FLEX SCHEDULES - Another idea would be to have 4 10-hour work days and/or
allow workers to work from home if their job would allow that flexibility. The U
would save on electricity, water, parking, etc. Flexible schedules are the only
schedules that make sense to me. I used to be in HR for a number of years, and I
know for a fact that employees are MUCH happier, which makes them much, much,
MUCH more productive, when they are working a flexible schedule or working from
home. It’s a proven fact that happy employees are productive employees. The
offices could still be open 5 days a week but if you allow flexibility in work
schedules so that the office has adequate coverage for all 5 days, and the work
gets done, there is no reason why flex schedules would not work and save the U a
lot of money while getting much more productivity out of the employees. We’re
all being asked to do more with less. This would be a great way to get
that.
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My suggestion is to put a power strip on every desk and plug in computers,
printers, speakers, and any other device that is not used over night. If it is
convenient, people may flick a switch as part of their leaving work
pattern.
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The budget cuts certainly are inconvenient! My knowledge of the logistics and
infrastructure involved with running the university are very limited, but I do
understand the ever increasing cost of energy. I have noted, and confirmed with
other residents, that the dormitories as well as other buildings are warmer than
necessary. During the late fall and winter months I have had no choice but to
leave the windows gaping to keep the temperature reasonable. Often times it
reaches 80+ degrees, with the windows opened. Apart from being incredibly
wasteful it is not conducive to a comfortable learning
environment.
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With the continued tight budget, we should implement and continue long term to reduce the amount of electricity used across both the college and hospital. There are areas where we could easily lower the light usage, when safety is not an issue. During the high peaks of electrical usage, the employees doing this to help, why not do this year around? We can also mandate for non-essential employees to work from home even one day a week remotely which would reduce the electrical usage even further.
Another idea is to promote among the employees cost cutting suggestions,
allow the departments to post or commend the employee for their part in cutting
the budget. Run a contest among the students/staff to harness the broad sector
of thinking to come up with ways to cut corners or recycle and possibly provide
the winners with a monetary award or possible “free” semester of education. We
loose out on so many good ideas because most people for 1) don’t know who to
contact 2) thinks no one really cares 3) has no ownership to the betterment of
the University College or Hospital. How many times have you heard the statement,
“that’s the University’s way?”
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in the building i work in which is health science there are a lot of lights
that are on the whole entire time the building is open because of the building
is wired no light switches in these rooms or if someone is gone lights are still
on can something be figured out to save energy
cost
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The department of Anesthesia has many flat screen monitors that rotate the
staff at the front desk and three others down by the lecture room. These are all
left on in the night hours as well as weekends. If this happens in many areas,
just shutting off the monitors on these down times, could save a
bunch.
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I am sure that keeping all the U’s buildings at the right temperature is a difficult job, but I am equally sure that we are wasting lots and lots of energy. This seems especially true of the air-conditioning of buildings that get little use, or are cooled to temperatures that make them actually cold to be in.
I strongly suggest that the UI figure out how to heat and cool buildings in a
more energy-efficient manner. Can we, for example, turn the air-conditioning up
just a couple degrees everywhere? And similarly, can we turn the heat down a
couple degrees for instance?
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My suggestion would be to have as many coders/cancer abstractors work out of
their homes as possible. This reduces the cost of office space, utilities, and
computer usage at the University of Iowa. I have read articles in trade
magazines that other facilities have found this cost
effective.
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Lights in this hospital seem to be on all the time, regardless of whether or not they are being used. If staff attempt to be mindful of this and begin turning off unnecessary lights, a lot of wasted money and energy will be saved.
I would like to see greater emphasis placed on turning off lights, especially
at the end of a day.
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Our building is poorly insulated and must cost the university much more that
it should to heat and cool. Insulation is an upfront cost, but some types of
weatherizing investments can be recouped in as few as a couple of years. To be
proactive, we have attempted to obtain an energy audit for our building, but so
far to no avail. My suggestion, let’s getting the university really committed to
energy savings. That means all buildings.
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Light continue to be left on in areas that are not used, especially at night,
why are we leaving so many lights on in non-patient
areas.
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Get people to turn off their lights when they
leave!
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Perhaps the flood lights that illuminate the Old Capitol at night could be
turned off. In place some more energy efficient lighting could be installed in
the cupola below the dome if it is felt lighting is
necessary.
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In walking through the second floor skywalk, leading to the Parking Ramp II, I have noticed it is frequently uncomfortably hot in there from registers blowing hot air (even in the summer). Patients and their families are negatively affected by the heat by the time they get to the ramp. Especially with all the windows in the skywalk, turning down the heat should have a great cost savings. We could also think about not heating the stairwells in the ramps.
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One area that I feel the University of Iowa (UI) could save money is in the bus system. It has always amazed me how a bus will stop and pick up one passenger and possibly a second along the way from where I get on at Westlawn and travel to the South Hospital with only two passengers. Although I have had on occasion to wait at least 30 minutes for a bus in freezing weather, it seems that I have also been trying to catch a bus only to see the driver stop and take off without looking around to see if there are any individuals trying to hurry to catch the bus.
It is convenient to have the buses every ten minutes but perhaps there would
be a more efficient way of setting up routes where the buses have more
passengers to save on the fuel costs associated with running them. Perhaps if
the bus stops and waits for 7-10 minutes to give people a chance to catch it
then it would be more efficient. After all we sit in the cold and wait well over
that amount of time for the bus to arrive. And if the buses are fuller it might
require far less buses to travel with only one or two passengers. When there is
an event such as a game or major UI gathering the buses could run at full force
in the areas where traffic is higher. With the cost of fuel these days this is
something I believe should be reviewed.
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Plant wildflower seeds rather than potted plants/flowers, cut the grass, and
trim the trees and bushes less, install sensors so that lights go off when there
isn’t anyone in a room, rather than logging off, shut down computers between
people, wash windows less, start a recycling program and use the money you gain
from aluminum and the like, cut out all employee
bonuses.
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In the spirit of shared sacrifice I would like to suggest 1 day per month furloughs for all full time faculty and staff for FY2009-2010.
In an effort to reduce energy consumption I would like to suggest that some
buildings go dark and with reduced heating or air conditioning after 9pm Monday
thru Friday, and for specified periods of time on the weekends. Many
postdoctoral scholars and graduated students work, study, or hang out in
research laboratories at all hours of the night requiring lights and HVAC to run
24 hours a day in buildings occupied by only a few people.. I am not trying to
slow down work production, but only suggesting consolidation of effort into
blocks of time that can be supported with reductions in energy. If the building
is lighted and the HVAC is on they will not modify their behavior. If changes
are made they will adapt.
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Cutting electricity costs: power outage shut all running electrical items - how much did that change electrical use and can that be translated into shutting down night/weekend items not in use?
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