Stetson University
Energy and Water Conservation Policy

Being responsible stewards of our environment is a core value of Stetson University. In June 2007, on behalf of Stetson University, President Doug Lee became a Charter Signatory with the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. An Environmental Stewardship Plan was put in place and endorsed by our Board of Trustees. That plan includes targets toward achieving our goal of being carbon neutral; action steps; periodic measurement; and reporting of our results.

The Actions Steps include:

  1. Developing awareness on the part of the campus communities in terms of “why” we need and desire to reduce consumption of energy and water. We will also provide practical advice on “how” to reduce consumption of energy and water.
  2. Changing our expectations in terms of building temperatures, lighting, and the amount of water we consume.
  3. Continuing to implement energy and water conservation best practices.
  4. Investing in technologies and equipment that consume less electricity, natural gas, and clean water.
  5. Designing and constructing energy and water efficient buildings and facilities.

Energy and Water Conservation:
This University Energy and Water Conservation Policy requires that all members of our campus communities support our efforts to reduce the consumption of energy and water. All members of our campus communities can participate in reducing our consumption of energy and water in the following ways:

Energy Conservation

  1. Use only the amount of lighting required.
  2. Turn lights off when leaving offices, classrooms, residence hall rooms, etc.
  3. Turn off computers, screens, and printers when not in use. Turning computers, screens, and printers off frequently will not damage the devices.
  4. Take advantage of the power management settings programmed into computers, printers, copiers, etc.
  5. Be aware of and manage “plug load.” Computers and appliances have capacitors that consume energy even when the devices are not on. Either unplug the device or turn off the power strip the device is plugged into when leaving offices or rooms or when sleeping.
  6. Unplug electric chargers for devices when they are not in use.
  7. Increase the temperature settings during the cooling period and decrease the temperature settings during the heating periods. Adjust the temperature setting to 75 degrees in the cooling period and 68 degrees in the heating periods.
  8. Provided the room has adjustable thermostats, adjust the thermostat to 82 degrees during cooling periods and 55 degrees during the heating periods when leaving the space for periods exceeding several hours, or in the evenings, over weekends, and during semester breaks.
  9. Adjust the thermostat to the automatic setting where possible.
  10. Turn ceiling fans and others fans off when leaving your office, room, or classroom.
  11. Keep windows closed during hot and cold periods.
  12. Keep exterior doors shut to prevent the entry of hot, humid air.

In addition, our Public Safety and Facilities Management staff will turn off lights and fans in areas not in use. The Dining Services staff will turn on equipment on a “just in time” basis rather than turning on all equipment all day.

Water Conservation

  1. Shorten the time showering. Every minute under the shower consumes five gallons of clean water. In addition, the water is heated with either natural gas or electricity. Reduced shower time reduces consumption of water and energy.
  2. Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth or while shaving.
  3. Use the shower rather than the bathtub because less water is consumed when showering than when bathing in a tub.
  4. Report incidents where you see or hear water running or dripping.
  5. Wash complete loads of clothes rather than partial loads.
  6. Use cold or warm water rather than hot water when washing clothes.

Developing Awareness:
Stetson University has entered into an agreement with Cenergistic, a firm that assists clients in reducing their consumption of energy and water. Our goal is to reduce our consumption of energy and water by 18% through implementing our Energy and Water Conservation Policy and a series of recommendations developed by Cenergistic. Through the agreement with Cenergistic, each campus will be served by an Energy Conservation Specialist. The role of the Energy Conservation Specialist includes:

  1. Working with the campus communities to develop awareness of “why” and “how” we should reduce our consumption of energy and water.
  2. Communicating results to the campus communities..
  3. Maintaining data regarding consumption and cost by facility to allow comparison and direction of where we should focus our attention.
  4. Conducting audits of every facility to observe if the areas are being operated consistent with established protocols and identify where a change in operation will result in reduced consumption.
  5. Working with our Facilities Management staff to provide recommendations of how to alter operations to reduce consumption.
  6. Providing monthly reports to the Associate Vice President of Budget regarding performance and comparisons to our stated goals.