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Green Tips

Electric Usage Tips

Tip: Leaving? Turn it off.
  • Going home for the weekend; staying gone for the night? Turn off your AC. It’s bearable when you come home and it saves you from a high electricity bill and the environment from more wasted energy. Also, unplug appliances that suck energy! Energy strips come in handy when you do this.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance uses a scheduling system to turn off the AC in classrooms, based on when they are occupied.
Tip: Make some energy saving investments on your home.
Tip: Look for more energy efficient appliances when it’s time to buy.
Tip: Use economizer features for your appliances.
  • Suggest this at your office to save energy.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance processes exhaust heat from chillers through a Heat Harvester to heat the PEB swimming pools.
Tip: Choose Energy Star Computers
  • Use the power saver features. Laptops, with their LCD screens, are more energy efficient than desktops, and they save space. Lean more about ENERGY STAR from the US Environmental Protection Agency.
  • UNT FACILITIES has upgraded all their computers to LCD flat screens.
Tip: Use fluorescents.
  • Replace your incandescent light bulbs with energy and cost efficient fluorescent light bulbs. Read more at Denton Municipal Electric and be sure to swap out up to four incandescent light bulbs from home for free CFL bulbs from Denton Municipal Electric (while supplies last).
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance replaced all their incandescent lights with more energy and cost efficient fluorescent bulbs. There is an ongoing effort to identify new technology fluorescents and LED lighting fixtures designed for low electricity consumption.

Tip: When you use fluorescent light bulbs, recycle them.
  • It is against the law to not, and the mercury inside if not disposed of properly affects aspects of our everyday lives. Learn more about recycling and hazardous waste disposal in the City of Denton.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance recycles their light bulbs, avoiding contamination of water from mercury.

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Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Tips

Tip: Buy "green" air conditioners.
  • Those with a SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) rating of 13 or higher, or with an Energy Star sticker and new "green" refrigerants.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance uses "green" chillers, which are more energy efficient and use more environmentally friendly materials to operate.
Tip: Use high efficiency air filters!
  • They’re better for you and the environment: They give you high air quality, while reducing waste from throwing low efficiency filters away. And great news – in the long run you won’t spend any more than you would in buying low efficiency filters. Spend more now, but buy less often.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance is testing air handling unit filter material to decrease the frequency of filter changes and to reduce waste while maintaining air quality.
Tip: Set Your Standard Temp
  • Decide on a temperature and keep it. Constantly changing your thermostat settings or turning it too high or low isn’t energy or cost efficient. Set thermostat to 78F or above in summer, and 68F or below in winter – balance comfort and conservation.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance has standard settings for thermostats for each season, which saves on electricity usage and costs.
Tip: Set Your Standard Temp
  • Setting your thermostat too high or low isn’t energy or cost efficient. Set a standard of 78°F in summer and 68°F in winter – balance comfort and conservation.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance has standard settings for thermostats for each season, which saves on electricity usage and costs.
Tip: Have your AC unit and your door seals serviced once a year.
  • This will save you money on your electricity bill, save overall energy used, and it will make your home more comfortable.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance has their AC units and their door seals serviced once every year.

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Water Usage / Xeriscaping Tips

Tip: Water one inch/week, before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m.
Tip: Grow Green! (No, not that "green".)
  • Selecting native and drought-tolerant plants reduces your need for watering during the summer, AND they are more likely to be self-sustained. Learn more at the Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Native Plant Society of Texas.
  • UNT Facilities Grounds selects plants based on the amount of water needed, and groups them based on water requirement.
Tip: Use a Water Filter On Your Tap.
  • Refill your water bottles this way to reduce your waste without sacrificing good water.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance has installed water filters in some campus buildings to refill water bottles.
Tip: Donate a Commemorative Tree.
  • More trees mean the reduction of CO2 content in our air. The Arbor Day Foundation inspires people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.
  • UNT Facilities Grounds has implemented a program that allows anyone to donate a commemorative tree to the campus landscape. For any information contact Lanse Fullinwider: lansef@unt.edu or (940) 369-7318.
Tip: Recycle Your Wood.
  • Too much of our landfills are comprised of wood scrap that could’ve been reused. Find a nearby wood processing facility or recycler and take your truckload there. Read more about City of Denton Dyno Dirt Products.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance and Grounds recycles saw dust and wood scraps into mulch which is used in flower beds on campus to maintain the water content, reducing watering requirement.
Tip: Make your yard hospitable to animals, AND pick up your dog’s business!
  • Planting species native to your area, and reserving space for animals is important in maintaining our natural, and most beneficial to us, ecosystem. Also, coffee grounds and compost are great fertilizers! Learn more at Texas Wildscapes.
  • UNT Facilities Grounds has a very animal friendly landscape, in case you haven’t noticed.

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Recycling Tips

Tip: Recycle your old metal products, your cans,
Tip: Make Returns, Have Garage Sales.
  • We know that if you’re financially well endowed you don’t care for that extra pocket change, but please help yourself and the environment by reducing waste!! Post it in the “Free” section on Craigslist or join The Freecycle Network. (This will also eliminate the occupation of dumpster diving.)
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance sends reusable items to Purchasing and Payment Services Surplus for reuse or sale.
Tip: Recycle your plastic.
  • Keep plastic out of the landfills and, save on heat energy used to produce plastic. According to the EPA, one pound of PET plastic bottles saves 12,000 BTU’s (British Thermal Unit) of heat energy. For more information visit American Chemistry Council Plastics Division.
  • UNT Facilities Recycling Services recycles 14,000 plastic bottles collected from campus every week.
Tip: Recycle your paper.
Tip: Recycling Copy Paper/ Ink Cartridges
  • Do this at home and push it at your work office – promote office waste management whenever possible. Take old cartridges to your local office supply retailer to recycle for store credits. To maximize usage efficiency, remove and gently rock the toner cartridge when it runs low. The Denton location of Cartridge World accepts items for recycling and refilling.
  • UNT recycles all un-needed copy paper and ink cartridges.
Tip: Donate or recycle your old computers.
  • Monitors and CPU’s contain toxic components, and they don’t belong in landfills. Donate those that are still functioning to schools, libraries, or charities, and contact the company who made the computer to make arrangements for recycling those that are no longer functioning.
  • UNT recycles all their computers that are no longer functioning.
Tip: Recycle your batteries. Be preventative by using rechargeable batteries, or look for low mercury and heavy metal content.

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Refrigerants Tips

Tip: Recycle your old refrigerant. It's the law!
Tip: Purchase refrigerants that are environmentally friendly.
  • Help save the environment.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance has replaced the refrigerants used for cooling building with more environmental friendly refrigerants.

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Automotive / Transportation Tips

Tip: Get a Tune-Up
  • Get regular engine tune-ups following the manufacturer’s recommendations, in the owner’s manual, help the performance of your car, prolongs its longevity, and saves energy.
  • UNT Facilities Automotive has their vehicles maintained according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Tip: Ride your bike
  • Especially around campus, instead of increasing the CO2 output by driving.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance and Denton Police Department has installed bicycle racks all over campus, and if more people were riding bikes, they’d be happy to install more.
Tip: Recycle your motor oil and tires.
Tip: When it’s time to buy a new vehicle, buy smart!
  • Buy an electric hybrid, or a high gas mileage (30mpg or greater) vehicle. The choices are growing, and the environmental benefits are just as good as the money you’ll save in fuel costs.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance uses electric vehicles and has a program to replace many of the service vehicles with electric vans and truck.
Tip: Check your air pressure, and fill your tires as recommended by the manufacturer.
  • This info is on a plate on the inside edge of your driver door, not on the tire! Your gas mileage improves, reducing waste of energy and our fossil fuels. Gas Mileage tips and more from the federal government.
  • UNT Facilities Automotive regular checks and keeps campus vehicle tires to proper inflation.
Tip: Purchase more energy efficient motors or repair them.
  • Wait to your motor needs to be replaced, and then buy one that is more energy efficient – save our fuels. Decide if your motor only needs a repair to avoid unnecessary waste.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance purchases more energy efficient motors, when motors need to be replaced.
Tip: Ride the bus when you can.

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Construction / Facilities Maintenance Tips

Tip: Use No to Low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) Paint.
  • Using high VOC paint is toxic to our health to breath and toxic to the environment. Cost effectively, low VOC paint is more comparable to regular paint than is no VOC paint.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance uses low VOC paint and latex water-based paint that reduces the release of toxins into our breathing air.
Tip: Use flooring with recycled content.
  • For home improvement projects, look for flooring with recycled content.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance installs carpet and flooring in the education buildings that contains recycled content.
Tip: Rent Tools Instead of Buying
  • When you won’t be using a piece of equipment often, rent it. To buy contributes to an inefficient manufacture-to-use ratio.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance rents equipment that is not needed often.
Tip: Pack air gaps in your home.
  • Use flexible insulation around penetrating pipes and ducts to prevent leaks.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance insulates exposed pipes and ducts, preventing leaks and hazards for our campus.
Tip: Choose light color roofing.
  • The whiter your roof, the less heat it absorbs, and your energy usage and costs go down. Makes perfect sense.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance has light color roofing to increase reflection and reduce cooling costs.
Tip: Add insulation to your attic.
  • Find out what’s best for your house and the local climate. This is another way to keep your house the temperature you want it to be, reducing energy waste and costs.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance adds additional insulation each time they reroof.
Tip: Look for recycled materials for your paving needs.
  • Once again, support this market for the good of the environment.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance pulverizes old paving for immediate reuse on campus.
Tip: Use a plunger or plumber’s snake first.
  • Commercial drain cleaners aren’t should not be in our wastewater.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance uses plungers and snakes, instead of chemicals.
Tip: When replacing windows, use "super windows"
  • The use of double panes, low-emissivity glazing, and argon or krypton gas between panes blocks heat transfer, keeping your home insulated, energy usage low, and energy costs low. Also, for your window coverings use light colors, or curtains with a white inner lining.
  • UNT Facilities Maintenance installs energy efficient windows and coverings in older buildings when remodeling.

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Custodial / Cleaning Tips

Tip: Buy Paper Products with Recycled Content.
  • Look on labels for high (30%) “post-consumer” content.
  • UNT Facilities Custodial Services supplies building restrooms with paper towels and toilet paper that contain recycled content.
Tip: Use green certified glass cleaner.
  • The ammonia in regular glass cleaners can damage the surface you’re using it on. Ammonia-free glass cleaner is better for the surface, it is better for you (especially those with allergies), and it’s better for our breathing air. Vinegar and water is a good alternative.
  • UNT Facilities Custodial Services uses green certified glass cleaner for all of its glass cleaning.
Tip: Buy washable mops and sponges.
  • Buy items that may be reused rather than throwing away those that constantly have to be replaced. You won’t spend as much, you won’t waste time trying to find the right mop head for your mop stick, and it reduces waste.
  • UNT Facilities Custodial Services launders and reuses wet and dust mops, which reduces waste of these products.
Tip: Use non-toxic wipes instead of aerosols for your cleaning needs.
  • Cleaner air equals happier us and happier environment. Once again, vinegar is a great alternative.
  • UNT Facilities Custodial Services uses wipes for furniture, stainless steel, carpet spot removing, and graffiti removal instead of using aerosols, which reduces the toxins in our air.
Tip: Use green certified hand soap.
  • Biodegradable, organic formulas are used that are just as effective as regular hand soap, and they are better for your skin.
  • UNT Facilities Custodial Services is implementing a project to replace all hand soaps with green certified hand soaps.
Tip: ATTN Smokers! (You know what this is about…)

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Everything Else Tips

Tip: Join a gym close to your home, school, or work.
  • Ride your bike to it. Might as well, right? It’s a great warm-up, and there’s no exhaust output into our environment. Schedule your workout while you’re on campus, and ride your bike to and from your car and classes.
  • UNT has an on-campus gym that’s FREE for students and low fee for faculty and staff.
Tip: Volunteer; Join a club.
Tip: Buy Products Locally.
  • CO2 outputs from our cars today are way too high. Visit Green Dallas for more ideas.
  • Use local suppliers as much as possible; reduce transportation, and in turn reduce energy used and environmental hazards caused by it.
Tip: Stop the Junk!
  • Stop the junk from coming in the mail. Contact the companies sending you the junk mail and have them take your address of their list of recipients. Catalog Choice is a free service that lets you decline paper catalogs you no longer wish to receive.
  • Opt out of getting paper credit card statements and applications in the mail. There all available online now! Ask your bank or credit card provider!

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