UC San Diego Cut Electricty Purchases During Heat Wave Last Week

During Aug. 23-25 when California’s afternoon temperatures rose above 100 degrees, UC San Diego took a variety of energy-conservation steps, including simultaneously adjusting thousands of thermostats a few degrees warmer than normal to help cut electricity purchases up to 80 percent during three state-wide “demand response” events.

UC San Diego faculty and staff switched from desktop computers to more energy-efficient laptops and turned off printers and other office equipment not in use and took many other measures as part of an effort to restrain electricity consumption. As a result, UC San Diego reduced its purchase of electricity from 10.5 megawatts to only 2 megawatts during a critical two-hour period on Aug. 25 and reduced electricity purchases by similar amounts during the two previous afternoons.

Read the full story by Rex Graham on the UC San Diego news Web site.