Residence Halls

Open your shades to utilize natural light when you are indoors

• Fact: Lighting accounts for 29% of energy use in typical office spaces

Turn off ALL lights when you leave ANY room (e.g. bathroom, shower, or common room) even if its for a short period of time

• Fact: Even with fluorescent lights, it saves MORE energy to turn lights off instead of leaving them on

Replace bulbs with lower-watt incandescent bulbs or compact fluorescent bulbs

• Fact: Compact fluorescent lights use 75% less energy then incandescent lights

Avoid the use of halogen lamps

• Fact: One halogen lamp stand draws more power than the average computer

Turn off decorative lighting

Study with friends to reduce the number of rooms with lights on

Study outside, in the library, or other public spaces

Activate your computer’s power management options and set your computer monitor to sleep after 10 minutes of inactivity

• Fact: Screen savers do not save energy

Turn off computers and monitors when not in use for an hour or more

• Fact: IU offers the Go Green Gadget that will help monitor and reduce your computer's energy consumption

Use a laptop instead of a desktop when possible (and turn the desktop off!)

• Fact: A laptop can save 80 - 90% of the energy a desktop uses

Use ink-jet printers instead of laser printers when possible

• Fact: Ink-jet printers consume 95% less energy than laser printers

Utilize power strips to easily manage power use for computers and other electronic equipment

• Fact: Computers, and other appliances, still use up to 85% of their energy when plugged in

Turn off the tap until you need water

• Fact: A running faucet with a 1/4" stream wastes 13,128 gallons of water in 24 hours - enough to fill a 40' semi-truck trailer

Rinse your razor in a container of water (e.g. sink, tub, or small cup) rather than leaving the faucet running

Turn off the water while brushing your teeth

Take shorter showers

Turn off the water when soaping up in a shower and run the water only when rinsing

Do not use the shower as a sauna or a means of steaming wrinkles out of your clothes

Do not use toilets as a trash can

• Fact: Efficient toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush while older toilets use 4 or more gallons per flush

Only wash full loads of clothes

• Fact: An average load of laundry uses approximately 40 gallons of water

Wash dishes in the kitchen sinks rather than the bathroom so that the kitchen drain can be plugged to lessen the water needed to wash

Only run full loads of dishes in automatic dishwashers

Report any leaks and drips in sinks, showers, and toilets to your RA, RD or Building Services

Air dry your clothes on a rack in your room instead of using a clothes dryer

• Fact: Electric dryers 3.8 kWh during 45 minutes of drying - more than your room uses in a day

Clean the dryer filter before and after each use to improve air circulation and drying if you must use the clothes dryer

Use the kitchen fridge or a friends and unplug the miniature fridge in your room

Unplug hair dryers, straighteners, or curling irons when not in use

Unplug all appliances when not in use (coffee maker, toaster, phone charger, printer, etc.)

• Fact: Appliances use up to 85% of their energy while plugged in and on standby

Turn the TV off when you are not watching it

Share a clock with your roommate and unplug yours

Close entrance doors if they are propped open

Keep hallway doors and bedroom windows closed to optimize air handling efficiency

Avoid the use of space heaters

• Fact: Average space heaters use between 3 - 11kWh

Set thermostats to 68 in winter and 78 in summer

• Fact: Each degree you lower your thermostat between 60 - 70 degrees generates 5% in heating savings

During colder seasons, open blinds to let sun in or, if there isn't any sun, close them to trap the heat in

During the warmer seasons, close blinds, drapes and curtains to block sun.

Set the thermostat to 55 degrees at night or when away

• Fact: 5-20% of heating cost savings can be achieved by lowering the thermostat to 55 degrees

Use the thermostat rather than the window to control the room temperature. If your thermostat and it does not work, notify your RA or RD

Avoid using automatic handicap doors unless you have a handicap