July 6, 2016 FAC/STAFF

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Summer Energy Conservation

For the past several summers, John Carroll has participated in energy conservation programs and we will be taking part again this summer. As good citizens of Northeast Ohio and as a major consumer of energy, our conservation efforts help to reduce the likelihood of blackouts and brownouts.

Our energy conservation efforts fall into three categories:

• A program of general energy conservation for the entire summer.

• Second, on particularly hot days within our electrical distribution area (the PJM grid), we may be asked to “shed load.” In general, we will be informed on the morning of that request. We will notify key members of the campus community as soon as we have been contacted. In general, these will be late afternoon time periods lasting up to ten hours. The reduction will be achieved by reducing air conditioning and turning off lights and non-life safety related equipment in unoccupied areas.

• Third, to reduce our annual electrical capacity charges, our electricity demand will be measured during a one-hour time block on the five highest peak load days. During these windows, we will reduce our electricity usage to the extent possible based on campus occupancy and events and ask everyone to reduce energy use in as many small ways as possible.

More about each of these programs and the savings can be obtained at the Summer Energy 2016 website (http://sites.jcu.edu/summerenergy), which contains detailed information.

Our goal is to ensure that faculty, students, and staff members experience a comfortable environment while we conserve energy. We have learned much over the past several years and will apply those lessons. Among the plans are:

• A consolidation of July and August afternoon and evening classes into the Administration Building which will experience limited impact.

• A review of the calendar to limit our participation during Orientation Sessions, Reunion Weekend and other special events.

• A card for summer visitors describing JCU’s major sustainability activities and these conservation activities.

• A universal flextime policy. Please speak with your supervisor if you wish to consider modifying your hours for the summer. Also, please review the summer dress policy in the Employee Handbook.

Our summer conservation efforts provide an opportunity for us to be good Northeast Ohio citizens as well as experience financial savings for John Carroll. Maintaining a comfortable, productive work environment is a key part of our efforts, but can only happen with everyone’s input.

Please send your comments and suggestions to Carol Dietz, Associate Vice President for Facilities, at cdietz@jcu.edu.