• Reduce the brightness of your monitor: your eyes will quickly adjust. You might also want to try the night mode on various programmes (dark background, white text).
• Check your PC’s energy-saving settings. Setting the screen to switch off automatically after just five minutes of inactivity can be a good backup measure in case you forget to switch off your monitor when leaving the office.
• Bookmark websites you visit frequently, as every search engine query uses electricity!
• Use AI responsibly: An AI query consumes many times more energy than a conventional search engine query.
• Try alternatives to Google: Ecosia delivers the same results as the Bing search engine, uses electricity exclusively from renewable sources, and invests a portion of the profits from search queries in reforestation projects worldwide.
• Avoid email attachments: a server link not only saves energy but also reduces the load on your inbox and improves your workflow!
• Video conferences feel more personal when you can see each other at the start, but transmitting video data in particular requires a lot of energy. You should therefore consider whether continuous video transmission is really necessary.
• Use streaming and cloud storage wisely: play videos at a lower resolution and clear out old file versions in the cloud – every file stored permanently takes up server space, which requires electricity round the clock.
• Laptop instead of desktop PC: laptops typically use only a fraction of the power of a desktop computer when in use.

• Simple and effective: Switch off the lights when leaving a room and, where possible, in corridors, stairwells and toilets. It’s better to switch lamps and appliances back on when needed than to risk leaving them on constantly, wasting electricity (in the worst case, overnight!).
• Switch off electrical appliances and use them more efficiently: Do I really need that second monitor? And what about the fridge – is it actually needed (and at that low temperature), or is it mainly keeping old stock cool that could be cleared out, and could the temperature be turned up a little?
• Are there any decentralised servers that can be switched off? Data migration is a hassle, but servers in particular run round the clock, consuming a corresponding amount of electricity. Furthermore, the university provides a central IT infrastructure that also guarantees data security.
• Only use the dishwasher when it is fully loaded and, depending on how dirty the crockery is, select either the energy-saving or glassware programme.
• Take a look up: which light bulbs are illuminating your workspace? Could you perhaps optimise the use of lights in your office by using only some of them as required, or switching them off completely during the day where possible?
• Share appliances rather than having duplicates: Is there already an appliance (e.g. a coffee machine or fridge) in the neighbouring workgroup that you can share? This saves energy, purchase costs and floor space.
• Use a kettle rather than a hob, and only fill it with as much water as you actually need.

• Filter coffee machines, in particular, are often left on all day. It’s better to agree with your colleagues on the best times for coffee breaks and create a pleasant ritual for socialising together. This saves energy and improves the working atmosphere.
• Where available, power strips with toggle switches also help to save energy. If you use such power strips, please ensure – just as when unplugging them – that the connected devices have already been switched off!
• Don’t forget: switch off computers, including monitors! In standby mode, docking stations and monitors consume around 6 W per hour whilst idle. This adds up to around 35 kWh of electricity per workstation each year!
• Power supplies and chargers still draw power even when no device is connected. Unplug them after charging.
• Printers and multifunction devices: A single centralised unit on each floor replaces several individual devices left on standby.
• Before a prolonged absence (holidays, field season, semester break), take a quick tour of the office or laboratory: What can be completely disconnected from the mains for two weeks?

Summer:

• Fans use a great deal of electricity and are often noisy. Can we avoid using them by creating a draught?
• A word to the early risers: give the rooms a good air in the morning and let cool air in again, then close the windows, including shutters or roller blinds, to keep the sun out. Feel free to arrange this with your colleagues as well.
• For those who start a little later: it’s best to close the blinds on east-facing windows in the evening.

Winter:

• The same applies here: air the room thoroughly rather than leaving the windows open continuously. In winter, it is best to keep the blinds up to let in solar gain (= heat).
• Ensure there is sufficient distance between your workstation and the window: particularly in older buildings with poorly insulated windows, radiant heat loss leads to a reduced sense of comfort (‘draughts’). Even a higher room temperature helps only to a limited extent here, as the radiating cold from the window remains noticeable. Why not check whether rearranging the office desks might already improve comfort levels?
• (Homemade) draught stoppers, which can be filled with bird grit, fabric or similar materials, make a big difference if it is not possible to move away from the window or door.
• Keep radiators clear: furniture, curtains or stacked boxes in front of the radiator prevent the heat from reaching the room – meaning the heating runs for longer than necessary.
• Turn down the thermostat whilst ventilating thoroughly; otherwise, the radiator will heat up against the open window.
• Keep doors to unheated or cooler areas (corridors, stairwells, storerooms) closed.

• Laboratory fume cupboards are the largest single energy consumers in the building. Always close the front sash when not in use – a fume cupboard left open continuously consumes as much energy as several single-family households.
• Switch off water baths, drying cabinets and centrifuges after the experiment. For equipment with a long warm-up time, check whether its use can be coordinated amongst the team.
• Only run autoclaves and dishwashers when fully loaded, and coordinate cycles between work groups.

• Defrost regularly and check the seals: Layers of ice act as insulation on the inside and drive up energy consumption.
• Take stock rather than buying new: Many freezers contain samples from projects that were completed long ago. Tidy freezers can be combined, and individual units switched off completely.
• Do not place fridges and freezers directly next to heat sources or in direct sunlight, and ensure there is free air circulation behind the appliance.

• Carefully review setpoints: Does the experiment really require 24 °C, or would 21 °C suffice? Every degree lower noticeably reduces the heating requirement.
• Adjust exposure times and light intensity to the actual requirements of the experiment, and reset timer programmes once the experiment has finished.
• Switch off unoccupied chambers and greenhouse compartments rather than leaving them on standby.
• Make consistent use of energy screens, shading and ventilation flaps – and do not leave doors open in winter.
• Plan your experiments carefully: can you group your experiments in such a way that entire compartments can remain empty and cold throughout the winter months?

• The smart thermostats installed since 2024 regulate the temperature automatically – please contact haustechnik@hs-gm.de to adjust the settings.
• Around 6 per cent of heating energy per degree: if you lower the room temperature by one degree and wear a jumper instead, you’ll save more than with most energy-saving tips combined.
• Make use of night-time temperature reduction and weekend settings, rather than keeping rooms at a comfortable temperature all the time.

• Print on both sides and only when necessary; make lecture notes and minutes available digitally.
• Carefully review the use of single-use materials in the laboratory and the staff kitchen – reusable items save on raw materials, transport and waste disposal.

• Plan your journeys by train, bike or using vehicles from the fleet; short distances on campus can almost always be covered on foot.
• Use car-sharing schemes and the Hessenticket.
• For conferences, check: Is online participation equivalent in professional terms?

• When making new purchases, factor in the running costs as well as the purchase price: a device with a ten-year lifespan often costs many times more to run than it did to buy.
• Include energy efficiency class, standby power consumption and reparability in the requirements specification.
• Before placing an order, ask within the organisation: is there a comparable device sitting unused in another workgroup?

• Joint tours of offices, laboratories, workshops or test halls raise awareness of energy-wasting appliances and provide fresh impetus for efficiency measures. If we implement these together, we’ll improve our carbon footprint!
• Involve new colleagues during their induction: where are the light switches, which equipment mustn’t be switched off at night, where is the checklist displayed?
• Report faults rather than getting used to them: a dripping hot-water tap, a ventilation system that runs continuously, windows without seals, lights without switches. Reporting these to Facilities Management is often more effective than any change in behaviour.
• If you have any suggestions, questions or require further support, please contact nachhaltigkeitsbuero@hs-gm.de.