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VU Energy Challenge

VU Amsterdam is to cut energy use by 20%. Will you help us?

Every year VU Amsterdam tries to save more energy, for example by installing LED lights and making steps towards a gas-free campus. But as energy prices recently went up a lot, this year our goal is to use 20% less energy. This is necessary because energy prices have risen dramatically, and it saves several million at VU Amsterdam.

Saving 20% is a big step. We believe it’s possible, but we do need your help. Technical and IT solutions will of course account for the bulk of the savings, but little things help as well so we are calling on you to contribute your ideas and support!

On this page, we give tips on what you can do and let you know what measures VU Amsterdam is taking to save energy. 

What measures are we taking?

  • Measures taken and savings

    The effect of big numbers

    The energy used by our building's accounts for 20-30% of our total use, because lots of people visit the campus. But lots of people can also save lots of energy! If many people cut their consumption by a little bit, this will have a major impact.

    The following measures will take effect shortly

    1. The heating will be turned on later (one hour after the buildings open) and off earlier (one hour before closing time). It may, therefore, be a bit colder when you arrive at your workplace in the morning.
    2. Central heating will be turned down by one degree and we are looking into lowering the temperature of the manually operated radiators as well.
    3. We will start using rooms more efficiently, for example by closing some floors, wings and buildings in the evening.
    4. Ventilation is turned on when a building opens and off when it closes.
    5. Facade lighting has been defaulted to off after closing time and this also goes for as much of the centrally operated indoors lighting as possible. It goes without saying that we do keep safety on campus in mind. Lamp posts will therefore remain on.
    6. Smart lifts in the Main Building recover some of the energy used. The lifts generate electricity when they go down and come to a standstill, which reduces the total amount of energy they use.
    7. We are identifying spikes in energy use and trying to reduce or avoid those because the connection fees (part of the energy charges) are calculated based on these spikes.
    8. We are analysing building use during off-peak hours and closely scrutinising what can be switched off at night. This may include copiers and coffee and vending machines (manually), as well as monitors (automatically).
    9. Almost all buildings will be closed in the week between Christmas and New Year's. 
    10. As of February 2023, the supply temperature of hot water to the buildings has been reduced.

  • IT measures

    The IT department is contributing to the 20% energy reduction target by switching off all managed workstations (desktops only) at VU Amsterdam from Monday 16 January 2023 if no one is logged in for half an hour. 

    Automatic shutdown can save quite a bit of energy. IT manages 8,550 workstations, of which more than 1,300 are still on on any given evening. The measure comes on top of actions taken by the IT department last year:

    • Displays of managed Windows workstations (desktops only) will go on standby if there is no activity for 10 minutes. As soon as there is activity again, the screens turn back on automatically.   
    • In study halls (student workstations), all systems still on are automatically switched off at 23:00 every evening.  
    • Systems in study halls that are on for more than 30 minutes without anyone being logged on are automatically switched off.

What do our savings pay off?

Tips and more

  • Tips - This is what you can do
    • Always turn off your PC/monitor when you go home. A screen in sleep mode uses about 5-15 watt/hour of power. 
    • If possible, turn off the heating.
    • Close your room door when you leave your room. Many rooms are equipped with a motion sensor. If the door is open, the light will stay on.
    • Turn off your wifi when you are not using it. When wifi is on, it continuously authenticates and this consumes energy.
    • Don't leave your charger plugged in. 
    • Clean up your mailbox. Especially mails with large attachments take a lot of energy to store.
    • Send links and file locations instead of attachments. The bigger the mail and the more recipients, the more energy it takes to send.

  • Energy Taskforces

    Both VU Amsterdam and Amsterdam UMC, VUmc location have appointed Energy Taskforces, which devise new measures and monitor the implementation of these measures under the supervision of the Energy Coordination Centre (CCE).

    The CCE has set up an additional taskforce of its own, which also investigates measures to save energy, for example by decreasing heat production and increasing efficiency of existing installations. All measures are discussed and monitored in an umbrella taskforce, under command of the CCE.

  • Suggestions?

    If you have any ideas, please send an email to communicatie.fco@vu.nl