Power Down

Keeping a campus the size of St. George warm in winter, cool in summer and humming smoothly all year round requires energy – and lots of it. This map, produced by U of T’s Sustainability Office, shows the buildings that gulp down fuel and those that sip it. Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories, shaded red, is among the most intense energy users, at 3,120 megajoules a year per square metre, while the new LEED-certified exam centre on McCaul Street, is among the least, at 670 megajoules. (Generally, buildings with labs require more energy per square metre than those without.)

Ron Swail, assistant vice-president of Facilities and Services, says the data helps his office identify where to focus their conservation efforts to reduce U of T’s environmental footprint overall. Over the past 35 years, he estimates that good environmental practices have saved the university $200 million on utility bills and avoided a million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.