WAYS OF REDUCING ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION AT DHL HOUSE REPORT PREPARED BY:

Peter Kuya Area IT Manager DHL Express Witu Road, Off Lusaka Road Nairobi, Kenya Phone: +254 (20) 6925 244 Cell : +254 722 70 5486 peter.kuya@dhl.com www.dhl.co.ke

3RD JUNE 2011

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ABSTRACT This research was carried as a response to the escalating cost of electricity due to high consumption. It main focus was on DHL House Nairobi which hosts most of the regional administrative offices for this blue chip company. Notable concern was large amounts of money being spent on electricity bill in recent months compared to previous months. Its main goal was to map out strategies to reduce electricity consumption at the premises and consequently reduce the amount of money being spent on electricity. Research focused on various senior and operational staff for the company noting dos their daily activities and determining how electricity consumption can be minimized.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sincere thanks to all DHL Staff who spared their time and offered their responses on this issue.

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 4

BACKGROUND........................................................................................................................................... 4 PROBLEM STATEMENT ......................................................................................................................... 4 APPROACH................................................................................................................................................. 4 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 Lighting ................................................................................................................................................... 4 Computers.............................................................................................................................................. 5 Water Dispensers................................................................................................................................. 5 Printers and Photocopies .................................................................................................................. 5 Scanners and Chargers....................................................................................................................... 6 Kitchen .................................................................................................................................................... 6 RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................................. 6 Optimising Computer Settings......................................................................................................... 6 Shut down your computer when you leave or not using......................................................... 6 Unplug Devices that are Not in Use ................................................................................................ 6 Utilize a power strip............................................................................................................................ 6 Replace old CRT Monitors with LCD Screens .............................................................................. 7 Install an Occupancy Detector ......................................................................................................... 7 Use Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs........................................................................................... 7 Use Natural Light ................................................................................................................................. 7 Kitchen Room........................................................................................................................................ 7 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................. 7

INTRODUCTION DHL was founded in 1969 in San Francisco (US) by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn. It therefore draws its name. DHL Express offers transportation of documents and parcels to local and international recipients. DHL operates in over 220 countries, Kenya being one of them hosting the head offices for Equatorial Africa. Its offices are located at DHL House, Witu Road, Off Lusaka Road. BACKGROUND DHL Express relies mostly on electricity as a source of energy to run machines and other IT equipments which are essential a for its efficient services offered to customers. The above range from computers, printers, scanners among others. These are utilized by its large number of employees distributed in various areas to serve its clients. PROBLEM STATEMENT Due to the escalating cost of running organizations, there have been outcries from the finance section that a lot of money is being spent paying electricity bills. After a keen observation, it was noted that something could be done which could cause a substantial decrease in the amount of money being spent on electricity. APPROACH The above research was carried out on 3rd and 4th June 2011 at DHL House during normal working hours. Information was picked through personal discussions, observations and references to certain written material depending on the technicality of the issue. To get up-to-date information the internet was used to clarify certain questions and findings. RESULTS During the research, the following were discovered which could be a likely source of the excessive electricity consumption witnessed at DHL House. Lighting Lighting ensures that employees effectively offer their services in a well lit environment. These are available in stores, computer rooms, offices, corridors, staircases, wash rooms and even within the perimeter for night visibility. DHL Express at DHL house has ensured that power saver florescent bulbs are used. These consume low power compared to other types of bulbs. However due their large number, they can be noted that they consume a considerable amount of electricity. The following was noted about lighting bulbs:

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In most of the boardrooms, training rooms, corridors and staircases the bulbs are left on even when there is considerable amount of natural light which can be relied on. Lighting in washrooms is usually on during the day even when natural lighting is sufficient.

Computers DHL relies on computers to run most of its operations due to the automated practice of the organisation. Employees are either supplied with laptops of the normal desktops running on CRT or LCD monitors. Since all this are plucked into the electric power they all consume considerable amount of power which could be attributed to the high electricity consumption in the premises. The following was noted about computers: i. Nearly all desktop computers are never switched off regardless of whether they are in use or not, whether it s working day or not. This was attributed to the current IT policy which dictates that they cannot be switched off due antivirus scans and updates running at night. When computers are not in use, they are left to run screensavers after which they switch to low power mode. Screen savers consumer power and mostly amount of power consumption depends on what is being run on the screen saver. DHL screen savers are usually brightly lit. This implies that the computers consume a lot of energy. Some users are still running on machines fitted with CRT monitors. This are known to participate in high power consumption compared to LCD monitors.

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Water Dispensers Water dispensers are provided to ensure that employees are nourished. However it was noted that no one is entirely responsible for this machines. They are therefore left running hence consuming energy even when no one is on location. This also participates to high energy consumption due to their number. Printers and Photocopies Since much of DHL Express daily operations revolve around paper work. There are many printers and photocopies to ensure optimal flow of activities. It was discovered that many of this machines are usually running across the day even if not printing. Although some are programmed to switch to low power, other are not and therefore this participates in high power consumption.

Scanners and Chargers It was noted that a sizeable number of scanners and chargers exist due to the large amount of daily paper work. The scanner are charged frequently and therefore the chargers are usually connected to the power source and never switched off. Kitchen The kitchen exists to ensure that employees are provided with refreshments as they go about their duties. Some equipment found to consume a lot of power in this room includes the electric cooker, electric kettle, microwave and a fridge. RECOMMENDATIONS Following the above findings and responses from various respondents, it was noted that the following action steps could help reduce electricity consumption by a great margin. Optimizing Computer Settings Every computer contains various energy consumption settings which could be relied upon to reduce power consumption. The following were recommended for adoption. i. ii. iii. iv. Screen Savers should start running after 2 minutes. Monitor should turn off after 5 minutes. Hard Disk should go off after 10 Minutes. Computer system should turn to standby after 30 Minutes.

Shut down your computer when you leave or not using Though the current policy on Computers dictates that they cannot be shut down, one thing that can be done to reduce office energy consumption is to shutting off your computer and encourages others to do so whenever they are leaving their offices or not using them due to meetings or other commitments. Updates can run when these machines are switched on since updates aren t lost while virus scans can be scheduled to run on a certain day. For instance in our case Friday afternoons. Unplug Devices that are Not in Use Devices such as printers, photocopiers, scanners, chargers (Laptops, phones, scanners), still plugged in are actually sucking electricity, even though you aren't using it. If you aren't using a device, unplug or cut off power completely until you need it again. Utilize a power strip A power strip can be a handy device for saving energy in your office. Simply shut down your printer and your computer in the evening, and then flip the switch on the power strip to shut off electricity to all peripheral devices. This prevents peripheral devices from sucking phantom electricity while waiting in standby mode.

Replace old CRT Monitors with LCD Screens The old Cathode Ray Transmitter monitors are known to consume a lot of power more that the recent Liquid Crystal Displays. Since there still exists CRTs in certain offices, they should be replaced with LCDs. Install an Occupancy Detector An occupancy detector can be installed in a room and linked to the lighting. The detector will shut off lights when people are not in the room, helping to reduce office energy consumption. If these devices can t be installed, someone assigned to ensure that lights are off when they are not in use Use Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs Compact fluorescent light bulbs are more efficient than the traditional light bulb. Therefore in lighting rooms where traditional lighting is used, fluorescent light bulbs should be introduced. Use Natural Light Natural light is free, clean, and also helps brighten the mood of workers. To reduce office energy consumption open up all those blinds and invite the natural light inside. Try to arrange desks around natural light sources if possible as well. Any areas of teh building with enough lighting such as service points, corridors etc should utilize natural lighting. Kitchen Room Certain devices such as the electric cooker, boiler and the electric kettle could be replaced with gas systems. This consumes less power in comparison. CONCLUSION Reducing electricity power consumption is gradual and a responsibility of every Employee. It s our actions and activities which determine amount of power consumed. Let s be power savers ourselves.