Researching energy conservation solutions

On this chilly Friday morning, our group decided to go do some research on how we can reduce our school's energy consumption. Immediatly we found some disturbing facts. -For examples, In one of the longest hallways on the first floor, we counted a total of about 40 light fixtures, each contating 2 incandescent light tubes. That's 80 in just one hall! One every 2-3 meters! Do we really need them all turned on at such small intervals? http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc172/CyberArts/DSC_0022.jpg?t=1195139689 -On the second floor, we found a switch for the lights, and decided to experiment a bit. Each switch turned every third light, and we found out that with 1/3 of the lights turned off, there was still plenty of light to in the hall thanks to the windows at each end. http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc172/CyberArts/DSC_0022.jpg?t=1195139797 -On our way we walked into an empty classroom, and experimented with the lights there. When we came in the blinds were closed, and all the lights were on. We opened all the blinds, and left 1 of the 5 light fixtures on, and the result was about the same! Besides that, we noticed that the classroom had a much more relaxing feel, with the natural lighting. The teacher in the classroom agreed, noting that "the students have a more positive energy with the windows open. They are more co operative, and are calmer in general, allowing for an easier learning environment! (in the picture, the lighting could not be captured correctly,.. it was actually much brighter..) http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc172/CyberArts/DSC_0032.jpg?t=1195139732 -Our next goal is to calcualte the amount of energy we can save by turning off 1/3 of the lights and maybe in the future 1/2.. The savings could go towards energy efficient devices such as double sided windows.. And now for some random photos http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc172/CyberArts/DSC_0040.jpg?t=1195139837 Our hallway.. way too bright and energy inefficient http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc172/CyberArts/DSC_0062.jpg?t=1195139862 Andrey posing near the tree sign.. http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc172/CyberArts/DSC_0057.jpg?t=1195139908 Our bike rack... if only it had more bikes...

(Story converted to an Impact Story by Zazengo) 14