Though it may not be perceived as a major issue, conservation is a big deal, especially when dealing with cost.

“A little bit of effort times a lot of people is better than one man putting forth a lot of effort,” said newly named Conservation Coordinator Shawn Shaw as he aims to tackle conservation problems at RPI.

As the new head of conservation, the first thing that Shaw plans to undertake is the lighting of buildings on campus. The building that consumes the most energy is the CII, with the JEC following close behind.

In order to control lighting loads in certain areas, Shaw has chosen to use occupancy sensors, which reduce electricity usage in unattended spaces. There are already motion sensors in operation in various classrooms around campus.

“It is my hope to expand this usage, as lighting can be a very significant and easily controlled portion of a building’s electricity consumption,” added Shaw.

A pilot program has been developed to support the above objective and is being tested out on the second floor of the Science Center.

So far Shaw has received positive responses from the faculty, staff, and students when it comes to buildings that leave lights on when there is no use for them, but he said, “the occupancy sensors are not very economical.”

Some other buildings that are helping with the conservation effort are the VCC and the library. Shaw has spoken with staff in these buildings and asked that they change the power settings of the computers so that they are turned off after about 10 minutes of being idle and they have agreed.

In addition Shaw is trying to get more flat screens on campus because they use half the energy.

Right now RPI uses two stations to receive their energy: The main campus substation and the Linac. These stations produce about 40 million and five million kilowatts a year, respectively.

With the construction of the Biotech Center the conservation coordinator is exploring the idea of building a new boiler plant to increase steam to handle it as well as the buildings here on campus.

Shaw is also researching the possibility of putting a ten-kilowatt wind turbine on campus near Sunset Terrace. The wind turbine will produce energy on a tilt down tower so faculty, staff, and students can interact with it and do research.

Shaw said, “It will be a useful tool not only to produce energy, but as an academic tool as well.”

“Wind energy is a fast growing energy source in the market and I hope RPI grows and expands into that,” continued Shaw.

The conservation coordinator is exploring the idea of having a light bulb swap day. The idea for this is to hand out compact fluorescent light bulbs in exchange for the less compact fluorescent bulbs usually found in desk lamps.

Some other projects included with the conservation program are periodic reports of energy consumption at the building level and improved maintenance programs.

Shaw has taken conservation a bit further than just here at RPI. He has been working with kids at the Junior Museum, located off campus on Eighth Street, to get them to start thinking about saving energy.

“One day they may be students here at RPI and it’s good that they start young,” said Shaw.

Shaw would like to encourage people to think about energy. “Don’t go buy a small fridge for your room to put one soda in when students can go down the hall and put it in the fridge provided for the whole dorm,” said Shaw.

The simple things are very important when it comes to conservation, so turn off that laptop when leaving the room, the television when walking down the hall to talk to friends, and turn off the water when brushing your teeth.