Energy crisis: How you can contribute to reduce consumption

The ongoing energy crisis brings a lot of uncertainty – also in Switzerland. AGORA is no exception. Below, we have put together a few recommendations how we can all, as a community, contribute to reduce consumption.

Image: Rodolfo Clix via pexels.com

The current energy crisis starts to be felt, also at AGORA. In numbers, the AGORA management has noted almost a 14% increase in the electricity bill and a 30% increase in the natural gas bill for 2023. The estimates for 2024 are even more worrying.

As a community, there are a couple of things we can do to contribute to energy reduction, considering especially that we are part of the hospital campus. Every gesture counts.

> Ventilation: Avoid leaving windows tilted
Tilted windows lets a lot of heat escape to the outside, between 10 and 15%. We recommended to open all windows 3x/day for 5-10 minutes for forced ventilation, which saves energy.

> Heating: Keep room temperature steady at 21°C (Thermostat “0”)
The ambient temperature inside should not exceed 21°C. By reducing it by 1°C, you save at least 6% of heating energy. In the AGORA building, this corresponds to setting room thermostats to point 0 (the marked mid point between the – and + signs).

> Lights: Turn off lights whenever possible
Turning off lights when leaving a room, even for a few minutes, helps reduce energy waste.

Every additional small gesture on our part counts :

  • Laboratory devices running unnecessarily or on standby consume a significant amount of energy. Turn off devices when not in use and avoid putting them to sleep if they are not needed.
  • Cooling and heating equipment are a major source of electricity consumption in a laboratory, especially -80°C freezers. By regularly defrosting your -80°C freezers, you help to reduce their consumption. AGORA’s logistics team can assist you by providing replacement freezers and other equipment that facilitates this process.
  • Please refrain from electric Christmas decorations this year. We count on your creativity in order to keep the holiday spirit alive!
  • The use of electric heaters or air conditioners is prohibited.
  • Don’t print when you don’t need to.
  • Use the stairs instead of the elevator.

The AGORA & CHUV campus are part of the federal OSTRAL plan (organization for the supply of electricity in the event of a crisis). In the AGORA scenario, labs and facilities would benefit from a grid backed by stand-alone generators to support our critical equipment for 48-72h.

More information on the energy crisis can be found here:

https://www.vd.ch/toutes-les-actualites/amarché-en-energie-et-risques-de-penurie/

https://www.suisseenergie.ch/programmes/stop-gaspillage/page-daccueil/

https://www.bwl.admin.ch/bwl/fr/home.html

In the meantime, if you have any additional ideas on how we as a community can save more energy, please email them to mara.kornete@chuv.ch – energy saving tips will be posted regularly on the AGORA website.

We count on you all to help us get through this difficult moment and hope that the measures presented above will be accompanied by a spirit of responsibility and solidarity in the AGORA community!