Campus Life

Student Health Center energy audit results show marked improvement

The Penn State Student Health Center recently received the results of a University energy audit. Kilowatt hours (KWh) used at the health center for 2011 totaled 760,894. The number of KWh hours of energy used in previous years were 862,511 (2010) and 980,896 (2009).

"We have made a number of changes to maximize energy efficiency over the past few years," explains Doris Guanowsky, senior associate director for University Health Services (UHS) and head of the Student Health Center Green Team. "By evaluating our occupancy levels, adjusting our default lighting and heat settings, and consolidating office equipment such as printers, copiers and faxes, we have been able to significantly reduce the amount of energy used to operate the health center."

The Student Health Center Green Team has initiated a number of sustainable initiatives, including building-wide composting and waste stream diversion through partnerships with the Office of Physical Plant and outside recycling vendors. Representatives from green team will present their sustainability initiatives at the American College Health Association (ACHA) annual meeting next month in Chicago.

Each department within University Health Services (UHS) and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) have achieved or are working towards Green Paws certification through the Penn State Office of Sustainability. Information about the Green Paws program is available at http://green.psu.edu/youCanDo/green_paws/green_paws_about_final.asp.

For additional information about green efforts within Student Affairs, including the Student Health Center, please visit www.psu.edu/dept/sa_sustain. University-wide resources to improve sustainability efforts can be found at www.green.psu.edu.

The Penn State Student Health Center, located on the University Park campus. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated April 19, 2017

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