random/ stupid question about schools and saving electricity

At my college, they put these signs up pretty frequently which says stuff like "Save electricity, take the stairs".

The problem is that they don't just stick them on the elevators, they also stick them onto the escalators (a device that runs all day, whether yo use it or not, it is a bigger waste to not use them as if no one is using them, they are just running, using thousands of watts and getting 100% no real work done)

Another common sign is "Burn calories, not electricity"

Is there a reason for this, or it is it best to not question what goes on in the mind of the insane?

schools stupidity irrationality

asked Sep 15 '12 at 21:29

Razor512
15.6k●34●80●242

5 Answers:

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Here is their mindset: "We must save electricity, so look for anything that runs on electricity and put a sign on it."

They are obviously not thinking about it throughly. It is sad, but when you think about it, that is how most of the world operates, on incentives.

answered Sep 16 '12 at 17:51

Abel Luna
451●11●12●24

If you do not use the escalator that would be a waste of energy... besides that, use the stairs lol. You could also recommend that they put a sensor on the escalator to power it down when nobody is in the area of it.

answered Sep 15 '12 at 22:06

Billtopia
276●1●4

Well no. Having an escalator at all wastes energy. Whether anyone uses it or not is irrelevant. If you want to save energy you simply stop the escalator and use it as a staircase and make elevators essential use only. No British school would have either escalator or elevator in the first place. Literally, no problem!

(Sep 16 '12 at 09:48) dunfiddlin

you are able bodied, you can climb stairs, not everyone can.

(Sep 16 '12 at 22:21) roguekiller23231

The great thing about educational institutions is that the majority of people (students and teachers) are liberally minded. Liberals generally put signs up like that without protesting/petitioning shutting down the things that they are advertising.

I get the feeling that they are shoving this ideology down my throat, and I sometimes wonder how they can get so offended by the way other people live.

I think that some people are just desperate to feel like they've contributed to society, and they think that with their signs, they might influence people to make certain choices. However, this act is completely irrational in my humble opinion.

What if I put up a sign with John 3:16 on it? I'm pushing my ideology onto other people whether they like it or not. I see no difference between putting up a sign that says John 3:16, and then putting up a separate sign that says, "Save electricity, take the stairs."

answered Sep 15 '12 at 22:07

catchatyou
20.7k●89●165●383

they may be running all day but they use less power just running with no one on them them with a load.

Its like pushing a cart with nothing on it, it goes easily. once you add weight on top of it, you must apply much more force to move it and spend more energy.

answered Sep 16 '12 at 17:30

trueb
15.0k●49●99●256

yep but at least in that case, it is getting work done and actually accomplishing it's goal, but with no one using it, it is just using lots of power while doing nothing, it is like muting the TV and covering the screen but leaving it on and playing a movie

(Sep 16 '12 at 18:07) Razor512

never said it make 100% sense... but it does save electricity vs riding it. So their logic is not 100% flawed.

in a math class we would do something like this

ASSUME escalator will run all the time. ASSUME people riding escalator will use more power. THEREFORE To save power, don't ride escalator.

(Sep 17 '12 at 08:50) trueb

I don't see anything different between that situation, and turning the TV on when you leave the house, but turning it off when you come home. When there's people not using it, it'll save more energy, but when you're away, it'll still be on.

(Sep 18 '12 at 07:29) catchatyou

escalators have to be a part of the school/collage/uni because they are there for less able bodied students, to provide access to all.

they use more electricity when they have more people to carry on them, a load, the more people the more power they consume.

they could be turned off, or only used at certain times of the day when the need for them is more likely needed, but might inconvenience some people who are not able to climb stairs as well as you or me.

the only option would be to remodel the whole place where the escalators are by maybe putting in lifts for the less able bodied students to use, or creating a ramp or slope. the escalators were probably the cheapest and most realistic option.

they could always install solar panels to offset what the escalators use.

answered Sep 16 '12 at 22:26

roguekiller23231
4.2k●72●104●142

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