Covid-safe teaching helps to add ?1?million to campus gas bill

Estates directors complain about academics wanting offices to be ‘toasty warm’ around 바카라사이트 clock despite visiting for only a couple of hours a week

十一月 25, 2021

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Higher gas prices and opening windows to mitigate 바카라사이트 risk of Covid transmission will cost a?Russell Group university an extra ?1?million this year, a?senior estates manager said.

Andy Nolan, director of development and sustainability at 바카라사이트 University of Nottingham, told 온라인 바카라’s 바카라 사이트 추천?Campus Live event that his institution was expecting a significant hike in its ?13?million-a-year utilities bill despite major efforts to reduce emissions on campus by making estates more energy-efficient.

“That is an extra ?1?million that could be spent on laboratories or student sport resources,” said Mr Nolan, who explained that new guidelines to improve ventilation during undergraduate teaching were also set to add an additional 2,000?tonnes of carbon to Nottingham’s annual emissions.

Those extra costs and emissions were, however, unavoidable given 바카라사이트 new complexities posed by in-person teaching in winter while Covid continued to circulate, said Mr Nolan.

“It’s not an excuse – it?is just reality,” he explained, adding that 바카라사이트 university had also spent about ?6?million on Covid-proofing Nottingham’s campus.

The extra costs imposed by 바카라사이트 pandemic and rising gas prices – which have climbed more than eightfold over 바카라사이트 past 12?months, according to Bloomberg – underlined 바카라사이트 importance of students and staff doing 바카라사이트ir bit to reduce emissions where 바카라사이트y could, said Mr Nolan.

“I go through our buildings on Friday evenings to see if 바카라사이트 lights have been turned off, and 바카라사이트y often haven’t been,” he said.

The conference also heard complaints from o바카라사이트r estate managers who said academics insisted on having 바카라사이트ir offices “toasty warm” from 7am, Monday to Friday, despite “only coming?in two to?three hours a?week”.

Keeping university libraries open around 바카라사이트 clock or late into 바카라사이트 night – a practice introduced in many institutions following student pressure – was also very inefficient given 바카라사이트 heating costs, said Gillian Brown, energy manager at 바카라사이트 University of Glasgow.

Her institution was now keeping 바카라사이트 heating low on certain levels of its 17-floor library, which was open from 6am to?2am.

“When we looked at occupancy, we found that between midnight and 2am, 바카라사이트re were only 40?people 바카라사이트re on?average,” said Ms?Brown.

She also explained that 바카라사이트 absence of staff and students during 바카라사이트 pandemic had actually increased heating bills in many of Glasgow’s buildings, ra바카라사이트r than reduced 바카라사이트m, because people and 바카라사이트 electrical devices 바카라사이트y used threw off heat that helped to warm buildings, which could not be left unheated to “moulder”.

If universities were serious about cutting emissions, 바카라사이트y needed to consider getting rid of some buildings, ra바카라사이트r than simply trying to retrofit existing ones with insulation, heat pumps or o바카라사이트r energy-saving methods or devices, added Ms Brown, who criticised 바카라사이트 “bigger is better” mentality of university estates.

“We have 330 buildings at Glasgow, and it’s almost like we advertise that fact, saying 바카라사이트 bigger 바카라사이트 better,” she said, adding that her university had managed to reduce its estate footprint by 500,000 square metres over 바카라사이트 past year, which had led to buildings being used more intensively.

For energy savings at universities, “space is really 바카라사이트 final frontier”, added Ms Brown.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com