World Energy Efficiency Day 2021: ‘The Most Sustainable Energy is the Energy You Do Not Use’
Both the United Kingdom and the University of Warwick have set a crucial ‘Net Zero’ target. At the University of Warwick we believe that World Energy Efficiency Day represents a timely opportunity to reflect, assess and shift the focus of where we are collectively investing our resources as a planet.
Global concerns are currently focused on the source of our energy, and if it is sustainable. Headline grabbing windfarms and picturesque solar farms generate the most interest amongst the media, and the most investment from governments and corporations.
£1.25 trillion is spent each year to achieve Net Zero and promote sustainable practices across the planet. Of that figure, only 13 per cent is invested in efforts to utilise less energy. The other 87 per cent is going into investment and research into sustainable sources of energy.
The current problem is therefore simply defined. Whilst solar farms, wind turbines and other renewable energy sources are sustainable, they are still fundamentally concerned with using energy, instead of saving it. To achieve the IPCC suggested target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C (Paris Agreement set a target of 2°C), it is estimated that the current 13 per cent investment figure must be dramatically increased, to between 30 and 40 per cent of overall spending.
Put another way, in a budget of £1.25 trillion, hundreds of billions of pounds need to be reallocated towards investing in practices that reduce global energy consumption.
Actions speak louder than words
Since 2001, the University of Warwick’s campus has generated its own energy through the burning of gas via our Combined Heat and Power plants. Electricity is generated through these engines and whilst the heat bi-product would typically go up a chimney in a power station, it is instead used to heat campus buildings and hot water via the District Heating System. And now, we are beginning to transition to solar panels and heat pumps as an alternative source of energy.
However, the most sustainable energy is the energy we do not use. Therefore, the University of Warwick has been making conscious strides forward to save on energy consumption.
Through the ‘Warwick Standard’, we are striving to be more efficient about our buildings on campus, and how we build them.
10 out of the 17 buildings currently located in academic square area on campus are in the top quartile of energy efficient buildings, as we go above and beyond national building standards. Two of our latest buildings have gone one better and received awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects. One is Cryfield Village Living, a new student residence, which reflects our commitment to embed energy efficiency, and reduced consumption, into the heart of campus living.
As a growing campus, old buildings are being replaced with new ones. Our new Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building (IBRB) is a great illustration. 50 per cent of the building’s total value was built off-site, as opposed to on campus, to reduce the consumption of energy and emissions in the construction phase of the building. From the transportation considerations to the recycling of materials and supplies, the IBRB has been strategically assessed to be as energy efficient as possible. When you consider transportation to campus and the challenge of recycling materials when construction is on campus, IBRB is a big step forward in being as efficient as possible during construction as well as in use.
As well as how our buildings are operated and constructed, the University of Warwick promotes alternative forms of transport on campus that focus on reduced energy consumption. In September, we hosted the UK’s first Micromobility Conference, where e-scooters, e-bikes, bikes and hoverboards were demonstrated, and are now easily available to students, staff and visitors on campus.
It is estimated that 60 per cent of climate emissions will be reduced from societal and behavioural change. We are therefore educating our staff and students to cut down their energy usage, wherever possible. Equipment changes are being made across lecture halls, libraries, laboratories, and residencies to more efficient alternatives. Retrofit LED lights are used across campus, whilst smart metres and measures are implemented in public spaces and buildings.
As an institution, we are becoming increasingly energy efficient, but more can still be done. On World Energy Efficiency Day, the message must be the less energy used, the better.