Myths and Legends
www.surreycc.gov.uk
Making Surrey a better place
People often use office equipment in what they believe is a cost effective and
environmentally friendly way when in fact what they are doing is exactly the opposite.
Often they are acting on widely believed but wrong information, or they’ve had a bad
experience with older models of equipment and don’t realise that the problem doesn’t
apply to the newer models. Listed below are the more common polluting, money and
energy wasting myths and the realities behind them...
“Turning computers on and off uses more energy than it saves” False
Insignificant relative to switch off saving. Start up current surges are of very short
duration and at most they consume a few seconds of average running energy. If
your equipment is not being used for more than a few minutes it makes sense to turn
it off or switch to a lower power setting.
“Turning monitors off is bad for them” False
Technology has improved greatly in this area and now-a-days a monitor is likely to
become obsolete long before it stops working because it has been repeatedly
switched off and on.
“Screensavers save energy” False
Screen savers are energy wasters. Most computers use about twice as much
energy lighting up the screen as they use for processing. Originally screen savers
were designed to stop screens being burnt by a constant image, but they aren’t
needed for modern screens. Not only can screen savers use as much energy as a
full screen of work, but many require considerable processing energy as well.
If you want to save energy you can set your screen saver to “none” or “blank
screen”.
“It takes a lot of energy to start up a fluorescent light, so there’s no point in
switching it off” False
With modern lighting it makes sound financial and environmental sense to
switch it off, if it has been on for more than five minutes. The savings are
greater by switching the light off than leaving it on.
“Low energy light bulbs are more expensive” False
They last up to eight times longer and use only 20% of the energy of a normal
light bulb.
“If all electrical appliance stand-by buttons (like the ones on your TV) in
the UK were switched off at night, it would save enough energy to supply a
town the size of Reading for a whole
year.” True
Energy walk around checklist
www.surreycc.gov.uk
Making Surrey a better place
Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioning
Who responsible Action/ comment
Complaints around comfort conditions over/ under heating Green Champions
Measure ambient room temperature, document against a Green champions
preferred benchmark
Check service record of heaters and boilers Facility managers
Ensure heaters and air con is not operating in the same Facility managers
area at the same time
Check heating controls/ room thermostats are operating Facility managers
properly and are set correctly
Check timers and programmers are working and are on Facility managers
the correct settings.
Check that there are no obstructions in front of radiators, Green champions
heaters and air ducts
Close windows and doors in heated or air conditioned Green champions
areas
Ensure air conditioning is switched off at the end of the Facility managers
day. Turn off as early as possible to meet comfort
conditions.
Check for draughts and damage to windows, window Green champions
frames and doors, repair damage or maintain draught
seals
Lighting
Who responsible Action/ comment
Check that lighting is switched off in unoccupied areas Green champions
Check that lights are switched off if there is sufficient Green champions
daylight
Ensure that bulbs, fittings and roof lights are clean Facility managers
Check that light switches are clearly labelled. Green champions
Check external lighting is off during the day. Green champions
Check for old, large diameter fluorescent tube lights still in Facility managers
use and consider replacing with slimmer tubes.
Check for traditional tungsten light bulbs still in use and Green champions/
consider replacing with compact fluorescent bulbs facility managers
Replace any failed lighting with efficient options Green champions/
facility manages
Equipment
Who responsible Action/ comment
Ensure all unnecessary equipment is switched off over Green champions
night and at weekends
Check hours of operation for vending machines/ water Green champions
coolers and consider timers