‘Turn Off for Break’ campaign nets $266,000 in savings

We all know that a couple of weeks off during the winter break does wonders for faculty and staff. But who’d have figured that it could also be so good for the university’s budget?

Figures released by SUSAN VARGAS, facilities energy efficiency manager, and FAHMIDA AHMED, associate director of the Office of Sustainability, show that this past year’s winter curtailment was enormously successful. The two report $266,000 in operating savings, which is a 32 percent increase from 2010. Since 2001, the winter curtailment program has saved about $2.5 million.

JUNIPER BUILDING, which houses the Computer Information Systems for Human Resources, won a $1,000 prize for general participation. The BRAUN MUSIC CENTER won $1,000 in the performance improvement category. SCOTT HOFFLANDER, trades and crafts supervisor in the HVAC Shop, won $500 as outstanding individual contributor.

In a recent email, Vargas and Ahmed shared the following facts:

* 13 buildings increased participation levels this year
* 168 buildings participated in the curtailment, 109 of them fully
* 1.6 million kilowatt-hours of electricity was saved and 1,033 metric tons of CO2 was avoided.

Learn more at the Sustainable Stanford website.