King’s to power down tonight as part of NUS blackout

KING’S will shut off non-essential equipment this evening as part of the NUS Blackout event.

The blackout will begin at 18:30 and last throughout the weekend across certain areas of the Strand, Waterloo, and Denmark Hill campuses.

This is the first UK-wide blackout organized by the NUS.

King’s Sustainability performed a trial run last week at Capital House on Guy’s Campus and saved 33 percent of energy.

Sustainability assistant Olivia James said the group hopes to match or exceed that number during Friday’s event.

The College could save £159 per day if all non-essential equipment was turned off during the evening in Strand building, according to KCLSU.

James said King’s Sustainability does not have an estimate on the total amount of money it will save during the blackout, nor does the group know how much money King’s could save if it had a blackout each weekend.

The group will have an answer after Friday’s event. They will also be able to say how much money King’s would save if the entire university participated.

As a reference, James said Southampton University, who participated in the blackout last year, saved £1,600 during the event.

The College has set a target goal to reduce its carbon output by 43 percent by 2020.

The Sustainability team has hired energy manager Tom Yearley to ensure King’s reaches its goal. The College has invested in energy efficient technology, such as LED lighting.

But, James said: “we need the wider King’s community to engage with energy savings in peoples’ own individual behaviour. This is why we are running the Blackout.”

Students and staff will complete an energy audit for the buildings in the blackout by tracking the types of equipment in each area, how many pieces of non-essential equipment were left on, and how many the group turned off.

Non-essential equipment includes computers, printers and lights.

The audit will allow the teams to identify which departments turn off non-essential equipment and which do not.

A party celebrating the blackout will occur tonight at the Strand Campus.