“Turn off the lights!” Imagine those words being uttered by the Terminator. Now replay those words, remembering your mother’s plea. It’s the same request, but somehow when it is delivered through a thick Austrian accent, we spring into action.
I’m Sarah Connor, and when my son John hears me demand, “Lights out,” he knows I mean business. In this issue of the Sarah Connor Control Chronicles, I’m fed up with Light Litter. I’m not your nagging mamma. Turn the outside lights off during the day, or I’m going to deal with you! Gotta love Clint and his Green Marines! Let’s save the world one gas station at a time. Sign me up, Clint! Who is with me?
What is with these businesses that are wasting our precious energy resources? We are reacting like we did when our mom nagged us? “If I ignore the situation, someone else will turn off the light.” Unless there is an immediate consequence, kids just leave the lights on. And now in the grown-up world of building management, guess what? We are still reacting the same way. So join Clint and his Green Marines in the quest to turn the lights off when the sun is out. And if it takes some nagging, well, I’m Sarah Connor, and I’ve seen the future and the serious consequences of this planet’s energy over-consumption today? Wake up! Terminate this senseless waste now.
Forget statistics. Yes, we could measure the waste, and hit folks with the facts. Did your mom come to you with statistics? “John, last week, your bedroom light was on for 50 hours when the sun was enough to light the room. That’s one 60W bulb running 50 excessive hours, and that equals 3000 Wh, or 3 kWh wasted per week. At a cost of 10 cents per kWh, then John, you wasted 30 cents per week. If that behavior was consistent over a whole year, then the waste is $15.60 per year.” No! Forget the math and the dollar savings. Take the Terminator approach. Expose the Light Litterers and get them to use readily-available products to automate the situation. Let’s bug them enough that, like my son John, they will flip the light off just to shut me up. See! Statistics are effective! But the heavy hand of exposing violaters will work even faster. Even if the numbers aren’t enough to convince them, just the fact that someone is noticing and pestering them about the waste should be enough to flip the switch. And one light at a time, we will plug this hole that is leaking energy every day.
As Green Marines, we all need to call out energy wasted by, as Clint put it so well, Light Litter. Imagine that these are little kilowatt hours just being wadded up and tossed out the car window like a bag of fast food trash. How rude and what a burden to everyone! Get angry! Fight back! The future burden of wasted non-renewable energy resources is immeasurable. This starts with us as part of the Control Industry, and an energy-conscious generations must follow, and scream from the mountain top, “The SUN is OUT, turn your LIGHTS OFF!” Act now, or I’m going to SHOOT!
And SHOOT we will! Violators beware. The Green Marines are armed with cameras, and we are ready to shoot and post businesses guilty of Light Litter, where outside lights are on when the sun is out. Call it nagging, call it self-defense for our poor planet. Take your best shot ,and expose these culprits. Start right now. CLICK HERE, and like our Green Marine Facebook page. Keep your eyes peeled for businesses that are culprits of this wasteful use of outdoor lighting in daylight hours. Point it out to the business, then snap a photo and post it on the Green Marine Facebook page, including information about the wasteful business. Get others involved, too. Think of this as “nagging” taken to a whole new level, Terminator style!
So what does this mean to the Controls Industry, and to your business? We need to make sure that building managers understand that consumers will not tolerate businesses that are poor stewards of our planet’s energy resources. Remember that I’m Sarah Connor, and I have seen the future where no one would dare leave an outdoor light on during the day. Time to be a Green Marine and shoot for “SoLo!” Sun OUT=Lights OFF.
Like Green Marine on Facebook now. Get everyone you know involved, and let’s start nagging those businesses who are contributing to Light Litter!
2 Responses
Sarah,
I think the analogy of comparing lights left on and wasted energy to environmental litter is very appropriate! SOLO it is!
Sarah I agree.
Many school systems are beginning to install Lights onto DDC system to help them shut the lights off. It’s all about saving Energy.