Smart Energy Savings Plan
Queensland’s Smart Energy Savings Program was legislated under the Clean Energy Act 2008. The program aims to improve the use of energy by Queensland businesses with medium-to-large energy consumption. Businesses participating in the program will be required to review their energy use, identify savings measures, develop an Energy Savings Plan and publicly report on the measures they are implementing through the plan. Energy savings measures are those which improve energy efficiency, energy conservation and energy management.
As per section 19 of the Clean Energy Act 2008 participating businesses must publish the measures the participating business intends to implement under their Energy Savings Plan. Mater Health Services intends to implement the following activities:
Efficiency
- Chiller replacement Program—upgrading six chillers across the campus.
- Power Factor Correction of Mater Private Hospital Brisbane. Ensuring more efficient electricity use.
- Lighting upgrade of Mater Hill Car Park by changing to more energy efficient lights.
Conservation
- Temperature Policy—to change to different set points for the seasons Summer and Winter.
- Air conditioning schedule—to ensure Mater is only using air conditioning during normal operating hours.
Management
- Green Design guidelines—for each new building project or major refurbishment, there will be clear guidelines around the aspects of ecological sustainable development
- The ‘Turn it Off’ campaign was conducted in non-clinical areas at Mater’s South Brisbane campus to coincide with Earth Hour on 26 March 2011.
The campaign focused on changing the behaviours of staff to conserve energy by turning off lights in unoccupied areas, shutting down computers before leaving the office for the day, unplugging chargers and turning off air-conditioners when leaving the office for the day. This intervention was a joint project between the Sustainability Committee and researches from Griffith University and The University of Queensland.
Results of the survey and the energy audits confirmed the effectiveness of the campaign. Findings showed that:
- Staff reported engaging in significantly more energy saving behaviour after the campaign than before.
- Consistent with the survey, energy audits showed an increase in the number of lights, and computers (hard drives and monitors) turned off overnight after the campaign compared to before.
- Staff perceived more organisational support for workplace energy conservation after the campaign than before.
- Staff reported more supportive energy conservation norms and greater energy saving knowledge after the campaign than before.
The results provide evidence that workplace energy conservation campaigns are effective. Results also provide potential avenues for further increases in energy conservation behaviours and for saving energy through engaging in a wider range of energy conservation actions.