A team of installers will be coming to Skyline College from August 30th at the earliest through September 9th at the latest installing small devices on power outlets. Many of the spaces throughout our campus have been identified as an excellent fit to participate in an exciting grant funded project from the California Energy Commission that will help us save energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and inform how we can use energy more responsibly on campus.
In aggregate, “plug loads” as they are called, consume an immense amount of energy. Currently we have no way to monitor, assess and adjust usage of devices that are plugged in. To address this, the District Sustainability Team is working with Willdan, one of Facilities’ most trusted partners, and the California Conservation Corps to install plug load monitoring devices.
The devices we will be installing, Embertec Emberstrip and Ibis Intellisockets, monitor energy usage and reduce power to plugged in devices during unoccupied periods and allow end users to view data via an online dashboard which generates real time energy data. Please be aware that these devices collect no personal information nor keep a log of what a user is doing and have been thoroughly vetted by ITS to be safe for use on campus.
Where will we be installing?:
- Buildings 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
When we will be installing?:
- 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday – Friday
What we need from faculty and staff:
- To install the Emberstrips, we ask that computers will need to be shut off and unplugged for a maximum of 15 minutes. We will not shutdown a user’s computer if they are not present. Please save all work and shutdown your computer before leaving their workstation for long periods during the installation.
- When installing the Ibis sockets, devices (including printers and copiers) will be temporarily unplugged.
Thank you so much for your cooperation and assistance! For more information, reference this flyer. If you have any questions or concerns regarding communication and/or installation, contact Utility & Sustainability Specialist, Issac Knipfing at (650) 358-6819 or at knipfingi@smccd.edu.
Article by Issac Knipfing
