Sustainability

Penn State Energy Conservation Policy

Penn State has adopted a wide-ranging Energy Conservation Policy (AD 64) designed to lower the University’s energy consumption through employee and student action. The policy contains guidelines to encourage employees and students to reduce energy use and support Penn State’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. Employees and students will be expected to reduce their use of energy through the intelligent use of lighting, computers, heating, cooling, appliances, and office equipment.

With the current economic climate and the rising need to reduce energy use, Penn State's new policy should result in substantial savings and have a positive impact on the environment.

Penn State's population makes it a large user of energy and in challenging economic times it is critical to use resources responsibly. Recently, the unit cost of energy increased dramatically, resulting in Penn State’s energy bills almost doubling.

Physical Plant will continue to work to make buildings more energy efficient, but occupants have a major part to play in reducing energy use through their consumption of energy and their behavior. In fact, about 30 percent of energy use is under the control of building occupants. 

Some of the actions expected from employees and students are:

  • Turn off lights in unoccupied spaces.
  • Limit the use of personal appliances.
  • Change incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs wherever possible.
  • Set occupied spaces (where manual control provided) no higher than 70 degrees in winter and no lower than 75 degrees in summer. In some facilities, OPP can do this automatically, but most buildings must rely on occupants to set the temperature.
  • Limit use of OPP owned portable electric heaters for emergency use only.
    Personally owned space heaters are prohibited
  • Operate window air conditioning units only when spaces are occupied.
  • Purchase “Energy Star” computers.
  • Turn off peripheral equipment (such as printers) when not in use.
  • Make all office equipment “Energy Star” purchases.
  • Turn off and unplug gaming consoles when not in use.
  • Close fume hood sashes when not in use.
  • Report energy waste to Physical Plant LINK 

The policy pertains to all Penn State-owned or leased facilities, except The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the Pennsylvania College of Technology.