Fireservice wants to go green - can anyone help please

[PomsMum]

DH was a firefighter, is still employed by them, but is now in a new position for a year to try to make our region's fireservice more 'green'.

They have had external reports done on 'what they could do' but he's now expected to detail how to implement it and how much it might cost them, and what they might save.

He's not a desk person, is a little lacking in confidence and is a little bit overawed by the seemingly huge task in hand eg recycling, biofuel and everything in between

Anyone had any experiences which might be able to help him?

Used any companies that were particularly good?

Any MNers out there who do this stuff routinely?

I am doing this as a volunteer for a church.

It's no joke!
Wow that's great!

What did the external report say? did they pay for it or get a free one?

Did it give a list of what needed doing and did they put any kind of priority on what to do first, or could he start with the cheapest measures?

If he wants to get stuck in with something, a good place to start is to work out from bills how much they used (kilowatt hours not money) last year on gas and electricity in their buildings. Summer to summer , say July '06 to July '07 is better than using the calendar year. Then whatever measures they take, like changing to low energy lighting, will really show up the following year. The same applies to their fuel-it's best to work out how much they used "Before" and "After". He will probably start to see changes quite fast in a big service like that.

The Carbon Trust has lots of advice, posters for employees etc. www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy/

Envirowise might be able to do him a free visit. Lots of information on the website too.

Great start, thanks.

Major I believe that the fireservice paid for the report but I'm not sure and it certainly didn't have any priorities (I think that might have made his life easier) I like the bills idea - I'll pass that one on.

I'll pass on the link to Environwise as well. Thanks.

More suggestions welcomed!

Great start, thanks.

Major I believe that the fireservice paid for the report but I'm not sure and it certainly didn't have any priorities (I think that might have made his life easier) I like the bills idea - I'll pass that one on.

I'll pass on the link to Environwise as well. Thanks.

More suggestions welcomed!

Great start, thanks.

Major I believe that the fireservice paid for the report but I'm not sure and it certainly didn't have any priorities (I think that might have made his life easier) I like the bills idea - I'll pass that one on.

I'll pass on the link to Environwise as well. Thanks.

More suggestions welcomed!

Yes - I agree with majorstress - the first thing to know is what they're using now (quantities and prices), then when the changes start to take effect, he can measure the difference and have proof that things are working. You have to have a baseline to work from.

I do this in a voluntary capacity - the areas we look at are

Energy usage - try to compare against average figures. The carbon trust (link earlier) has some benchmarking tools. Ensure lights are energy effecient, and clean, that windows are not obscured, so max use is made of natural light. Ensure staff are encouraged to turn off equipment when not in use, and use heating sensibly ie windows closed when heating on etc

Recycling - contact local council to see if they do any commercial recycling services (lots dont) then look via google etc for companies that collect materials from businesses to be recylced

Water usage - again, try to benchmark if possible - the Fireservice may have figures for average usage for a firestation. Then check no dripping taps, ensure there are hippo bags in toilets, sprinklers on handwashing taps to reduce flow, and sensible urinal flushing arrangements

Purchasing - ensure all paper for printers etc is recyled, cleaning products are green etc.

Building - ensure all sensible measures are taken to reduce heat loss via walls, ceilings and windows/doors.

I have found that even if no one in the organisation really cares about proof (some just want to be seen to be doing something, or worse, toeing the line decreed from on high), it gives me personally a boost to see my efforts making a difference. Job satisfaction etc.

Surprisingly to me, small stickers on light switches, taps, rubbish areas, etc politely reminding people to be careful about their use, have quite a big impact on the bills.

Most people have goodwill towards this stuff but just forget on a day to day basis.

majorstress - can I just ask why working out energy consumption is better done summer to summer rather than by the calender year? Sorry for thread hijack

Sure-I spent hours doing this and would love to save anyone else that time.

This is for the UK, it might not make as much difference if you have more predictable weather. Bigger businesses might have better management of this too, by their financial sections.

If you have just walked in to an organisation do this, and are trying to work out the place's use over a PAST year, probably no one has carefully kept track of meters.

You have a stack of old bills. With a bit of luck on there you find a few actual meter (gas or electric) readings scattered around the year, at the energy company's pleasure probably. You want to know how much is used in a year. If you make your cut off say, in mid winter-some years you will have a big cold snap by then, other years it will be mild-this will make a big difference to the result-it won't be very accurate. The exact date will also make a big difference, i.e. Jan 1st and Jan 31st will have used a whole month at peak need, probably. So, the weather and the date the meter happened to be read, messes up your estimate of how much is being used. Noise!

If you make the cutoff any date in June, July or August, or even early Sept, when most gas is off, and electricity use is much lower too, it will make very little difference what date it is, and the weather is usually not requiring much heat or lighting.

Does that make any sense at all? I figured it out by actually doing it, and was able to show that just making people AWARE had made the usage drop, even before we put on thermostats, insulation etc. It was over a 10% drop but didn't show up without doing Summer-to-summer adding up.

Thanks - yes, that makes sense.