Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Does NJ Transit Know How To Save Money?

Every time there's an energy crisis, we're told that we should turn down our thermostats to save energy and to save the environment by reducing smokestack emissions. People can save significantly on their energy bills:
You can easily save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to 68°F while you're awake and setting it lower while you're asleep or away from home. By turning your thermostat back 10°–15° for 8 hours, you can save about 5%–15% a year on your heating bill—a savings of as much as 1% for each degree if the setback period is eight hours long. The percentage of savings from setback is greater for buildings in milder climates than for those in more severe climates.
So, why is NJ Transit keeping the programmable thermostat in the Radburn train station set at 75 degrees?

The thermostat, located in the central waiting area is behind a tamper proof guard, but it clearly shows that the temperature setting is 75 degrees, which is significantly above even the recommended level of 68 degrees.

Does NJ Transit think that we can afford to keep the building warmer than we keep our own homes (and for the record, I keep mine no warmer than 66 degrees, and let the temperature go to 60 degrees overnight and when we're at work)?

At a time when we should be demanding that government and agencies save money in every way imaginable, this is an easy fix that should not be overlooked.

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