| UCSC has a long history of being proactive on minimizing our energy consumption.
Through both efficiency improvements to our equipment and diligent operation
of our buildings, we have low energy consumption compared with other universities in the UC system.
To be fair, much of this efficiency is due to our mild climate. Nevertheless,
we are very aggressive with our control strategies and only provide minimal
air conditioning. We continue to improve our efficiencies by replacing old
equipment with new more efficient types. One of the largest improvements
was the upgrade of our fluorescent lighting system to full spectrum lamps
with electronic ballasts. This alone is saving us over $50,000/yr in lighting
costs.
Demand Reduction Program
Since the energy crisis of 2001, the State has offered incentives in
the summer for customers to participate in a Demand Reduction Program.
What this means for the campus is that if the grid is in danger of rolling
blackouts, we are given a call and we implement a plan to reduce load.
The reductions only last a few hours and to date we have only been asked
a couple of times to participate.
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