On a campus as large as UNMC, massive energy use is a given.
So it’s doubly important to be aware of how much is being used.
With that in mind, and in an effort to promote responsible energy conservation on campus, the UNMC Department of Strategic Energy Use has unveiled three new kiosks and a new website that offer an up-to-the-second accounting of energy use on campus.
The kiosks are on display at the 4230 Building, xxx, and xxxx.
The kiosk at the 4230 Building has actually been up for several weeks, with many curious employees and visitors stopping to watch the daily energy cost quickly climb upward.
“We decided to install the one outside our offices to begin to get feedback and to allow the kiosk to get used and help out clean up any issues that we encounter,” said Rick Kmiecek, director of strategic energy use.
The kiosks track energy consumption used on campus, both from an entire campus perspective and also from an individual building usage perspective.
“Not only does the kiosk display live energy consumption from a chilled water, steam and electrical usage perspective, it is fairly interactive and allows you to see how much energy you are consuming or could be saving by shutting down items while not in use,” Kmiecek said.
Transparency and education are the goals, he said.
“Hopefully, this can motivate everyone to be as efficient as possible,” Kmiecek said. “Facilities and the rest of the UNMC staff has been great about helping us reduce energy consumption on campus for the last few years. These kiosks will help illustrate why we’re working so hard to do that.”