UNI professor offers energy saving tips

If the drooping economy is hitting your pocketbook, a University of Northern Iowa professor has some cost-saving energy tips that have saved big bucks on the Cedar Falls campus. Putting low-flow shower heads in 450 dorm showers cost seven-thousand dollars initially, but now saves the University a thousand dollars every year. Bill Stigliani, director of the U-N-I Center for Energy and Environmental Education, says low-flow shower heads are available for your home, too. Stigliani says low-flow shower heads use nearly 70 percent less water. Another energy-saving initiative of Stigliani’s replaced standard light bulbs in two dorms. The installation of more efficient compact florescent bulbs is cutting the light bill by 75 percent. Stigliani says unfortunately, consumers are scared away by the upfront cost of the new bulbs.The bulbs, though, last 11 times longer than a standard light bulb, and they don’t use as much electricity. Stigliani’s final money-saving tip: turn off your computer and the monitor at night.Stigliani says leaving your home computer and monitor on overnight all year long will cost about 50 bucks — money you could save. U-N-I has over 10-thousand computers on campus, and Stigliani says turning ’em off at night is now saving lots of dough.