This summer the Office of Sustainability Integration is launching an effort to avoid “peak demand”, which occurs when our campus’ electrical use exceeds our highest previous use for the past 12 months. This occurs on the hottest days of the summer when air conditioners, fans, cooling equipment, etc. are in use. Exceeding our peak raises our electricity rates for the entire year, forces the utility company to buy more power from dirtier sources and could result in brown- or black-outs.
We will be monitoring the risk of exceeding our limit each day and posting this sign around campus:
On days when we are in the red zone, we ask that everyone on campus makes an effort to conserve energy by pulling down the blinds in their rooms, turning off the AC when leaving, turning off appliances and unplugging chargers when not in use.
You can also visit go/beatthepeak for more information.
Thanks for helping out!