The way we use energy is a really important issue for all of us working in the University.
Our college, Ian Cotton, is now going to discuss energy use and how this links to carbon emissions
and climate change.
As a University we use a huge amount of energy
and we use that to deliver our research and our teaching.
It's essential that we use energy, but it does have an impact. It has an impact both
on the planet in terms of carbon and it costs the University a significant amount of money
per year. We need to use energy more efficiently and more effectively.
Globally, we have to manage carbon emissions and we have to limit the temperature rise
that the global population is exposed to. If we fail to do that, there will be significant
impacts to people and infrastructure.
On a local level, The University of Manchester has to play its part in meeting those carbon
targets. We also spend a lot of money on energy; we spend about 50,000 a day. If we can reduce
that spend we can use those funds to improve the campus, to improve our research facilities,
or our teaching.
The Estates Team are working very hard to look at how we can improve the energy efficiency
of our campus.
We do have other pressures though. We have more research and much of this research is
energy intensive. We also have an increased appetite for flexible learning so we have
students working in spaces 24 hours a day. We have to provide for them and make sure
they can use those facilities when they wish.
We have hundreds of researchers working across the University developing the energy systems
of the future. They work on a range of technologies: wind, wave, nuclear, solar, as well as how
we transport the energy and how the end user uses it. All of that research is having a
major impact.
We can all make a difference to how The University of Manchester consumes energy. If you have
a lab, you can look at the equipment that you buy; you can make sure you buy the most
energy efficient. But all of us have choices every day. Switching off a light, turning
down your radiator. All of these things seem small, but if you scale them up to 50,000
people on campus that translates to a huge amount of energy, lots of carbon and lots
of money.
I switch off all the lights and monitors in our office at the end of every day.
I'm a key supporter of energy efficiency in building projects, that includes the MECD
project, of which I am the project director.
We switch off all non-essential equipment and lights when we are not using them in the lab.
I hope this has helped to get across the importance for each of us in being more aware of our
energy use across the University and the different ways in which we can all contribute to reducing
its usage. In your action tool, you will have a chance
to share with us what you are already doing and what you can do in the future to reduce
our energy usage.
