With heating costs expected to soar by 60 percent this winter, the highest levels of state government are hunting for a solution.
Citing 'record high' energy prices, Gov. Jim Doyle signed an executive order at the Capitol Monday, ordering all state agencies under his jurisdiction to take steps to reduce energy costs. Following this trend, UW-Madison officials said the school is working toward similar goals.
Doyle noted that many families make decisions such as turning down the heat in order to save money.
'This executive order directs state agencies to take the same common sense steps as Wisconsin families are taking,' Doyle said.
According to Doyle, the temperature at the state Capitol was being lowered from 72 to 68 degrees'the lowest allowable under building codes.
Doyle said the executive order does not apply directly to the UW System, but noted reducing energy costs would be beneficial for the financially-strapped schools.
UW-Madison has worked to make campus equipment more efficient according to Faramarz Vakili, associate director of the Physical Plant Department. He said his department has installed over 8,000 motion sensors, replaced over 1,000 motors with premium efficiency motors and installed over 8,000 storm windows among other projects. Vakili noted that there are over 30,000 computers on campus and said, 'if you put them on power-save mode you're going to save a half million dollars a year.'
Vakili said because so many physical changes have been made, the school's main focus is now on informing students and faculty of what they can do to reduce energy usage. He advised students to turn lights off when they are not in use, to lower temperatures in rooms and to turn off computers when not using them.
The physical plant department is working jointly with the Wisconsin Public Interest Group's Big Red Go Green campaign to publicize efforts to reduce energy usage at the university.
Big Red Go Green's coordinator Casey Stewart said her group is focusing on three major goals for the university, including a study of the four most energy-inefficient buildings on campus. Stewart said the group is also trying to bring about a change from coal to natural gas, and to encourage the university to decrease energy usage 90 percent over 45 years, but said it could be difficult due to the school's rapid growth.
'It's hard to cut emissions and be more efficient when you're so much larger,' Stewart said.
