Uni lights out for Earth Hour

UNSW will once again participate in the Earth Hour energy initiative on Saturday 29 March.

Earth Hour organisers are asking Sydneysiders to turn off their lights for one hour as a sign of their commitment to reduce global warming. The initiative kicked off in Sydney last year and has now gone global.

At 8pm on Saturday 29 March, Australian cities will turn off their lights and other non essential electrical equipment for one hour. On the same day more than 25 cities around the world from Chicago to Copenhagen will be joining in. The event will demonstrate how simple actions can make the world of difference if everyone takes part.

A team from UNSW's Facilities Management's Engineering and Energy Units have co-ordinated a plan to ensure as many lights as possible are turned off across campus during Earth Hour, taking into account standard campus safety measures.

All of UNSW's residential colleges will also be involved.

Facilities Management will also measure the University's consumption performance during Earth Hour against those of previous Saturdays, to see how much energy was saved on the night.

"We expect to see some reduction," says Alan Egan, Director of Facilities Management. "But it's worth noting that UNSW has a substantial baseload of air-conditioning and other plant serving laboratories and similar vital areas that cannot easily be turned off. We have a number of projects planned for 2008, to review and reduce our baseload."

"A useful by-product of this event is that we will be able to see if there are lights that we cannot effectively turn off due to switching or control problems. We will take a closer look at any lights that are on during Earth Hour and take steps to improve the situation."