Green Campus Solutions: Energy Saving Tips for a Carbon Neutral School

Global warming is a phenomenon that the world needs to deal with. To reduce our carbon footprint, governments, enterprises, and schools around the world need actively prevent the problems caused by climate change.

According to data from the Environmental Protection Department, buildings (including schools) account for 90% of Hong Kong’s total electricity consumption. School campuses, such as universities and colleges, can play an essential role in a broader energy conservation and carbon reduction solutions. If all campuses work together to save energy and reduce their carbon footprint, this will effectively improve energy efficiency and bring positive changes in other sectors in the society.

To truly establish a ‘green’ Hong Kong, all parties need to work together to implement systems that are designed to save energy and reduce their carbon footprints.

Campus energy consumption

According to data from the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), the most energy-consuming part of a campus is the ventilation and air-conditioning system, which accounts for 49% of the total electricity consumption, followed by lighting systems for 20%, office equipment for 10%, and others for 21%.

What are the steps that schools, colleges and universities can take to become carbon neutral?

Energy management can be easily implemented in school campuses, making carbon neutrality an achievable goal for schools across Hong Kong. Through the use of carbon reduction strategies and basic energy-saving methods, school campuses in Hong Kong can effectively reduce their total carbon emissions. From the above data, we can see that air-conditioning and lighting systems consume large amounts of electricity. These two systems alone account for nearly 70% of the energy consumption campuses.

Below we’ve outlined four of the most efficient carbon footprint reduction strategies and solutions for schools, colleges and universities to practice.

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system

1. Keep your air conditioning system set at 25.5 degrees Celsius, and instead of lowering the temperature when it gets too hot, use an electric fan if necessary.
2. Turn off the air conditioner when classrooms are not in use, such as during lunchtime.
3. Avoid installing the air conditioner in a location exposed to direct sunlight to prevent the sun from affecting the air conditioner’s load capacity.
4. When turning on the air conditioner, keep the doors and windows closed to keep the cool air inside the room and the temperature moderate.

Lighting system

1. Turn off the lights when the classroom is not in use.
2. Taking safety as a prerequisite, reduce the number of electric lights in places with low light demand, such as corridors and stairwells.
3. Use natural daylight as much as possible.

Electronic equipment

1. Turn off electronic equipment, such as computers and screens, photocopiers, etc., during holidays and non-school hours.
2. Set power-saving mode for electronic devices whenever possible. When the device is not in use for some time, it will automatically enter low battery/sleep mode.

Paper consumption

1. Set the printer default to duplex (double-sided) printing and enable toner saving mode.
2. Eliminate excessive use of paper by sending lesson notes and announcements via email. Also be sure to use online forms, and marking reports on your computers.
3. Reduce print volume by reducing print margins, line spacing, and font size.

SEC EC Campus Solution

Implementing the above strategies is the first step to practice energy-saving and carbon footprint reduction on campuses. Nevertheless, how can we build energy-saving and carbon-neutral campuses systematically so that schools can save electricity bills and protect the environment without affecting students’ learning?

SEC’s EC campus Solution integrates innovative technology and STEM education with the goal of sustainable development, providing a one-stop school energy-saving program that makes energy saving more effective and efficient.

The technology of our SEC EC campus plan will help you quantify and track your energy consumption data so that you can prepare effective energy-saving strategies. Moreover, our carbon-neutral campus solution also makes the air-conditioning and lighting systems intelligent by automatically controlling them according to the usage rate. Moreover, the SEC EC campus plan also includes soptimisation of equipment usage, air quality monitoring, and more.

The Benefits of SEC EC Carbon-Neutral Campus Solution

Smart solutions can help campuses save up to 30% of their energy consumption, reduce unnecessary costs, improve efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions. They also help enhance the school’s image as an environmental leader, as well as establish an environmental benchmark. Let us work together to promote energy conservation and create a beautiful new world.

If you need more advice as to which solution is right for you, send us your enquiry and a member of our team will reply as soon as possible.