by Anthony O'Brien
Taking some simple actions can help LOROS reduce its carbon footprint and also our energy costs. When running, the average computer consumes 200 Watts of electricity and a monitor some 75 Watts. When you’re away from your computer for a period of time, consider saving work and putting the computer into sleep mode as opposed to simply locking the screen as this will reduce power consumption to between 1 – 5 Watts. At the end of each working day computers and monitors should be powered down and switched off, ideally at the socket. Remember, electrical equipment left in stand-by still draws a “vampire” current. It’s estimated that the energy consumption for 25 laptops with additional monitors will cost £4,500 p.a. Putting equipment into Sleep mode (when not in use) and switching off at night can reduce these costs considerably.
Shutting down your PC also allows it to carry out upgrades of policies, programmes and security protections.
Switching lights off when rooms are unoccupied similarly saves energy. Most of the Hospice is now fitted with sensors but there are some rooms still controlled by light switches.
Similarly, leaving equipment charging on a USB port when it’s been fully charged again means power (energy) continues to be drawn. There may be equipment we consider it essential to be fully charged at all time but there’s a lot of items of electrical equipment that once fully charged can safely be taken off charge.
Think about this in your home environment as well; switching off electrical equipment at the socket will save you money and also reduces the risk of electrical ignition.
Every penny saved in energy costs is a penny that can be either removed from our current deficit or one that can be spent on providing clinical and care services.
