Drastic measures: energy-saving in the largest Hungarian universities

Winter is coming and universities still have to go through the worst parts of the year energy-wise. It is not new that educational institutions, especially state-financed ones have to cut back on energy usage. Due to government measures, every state-financed institution, excluding some exceptions, has to implement energy-saving measures. This includes the largest universities in the country.

Telex.hu made a list of the implemented energy-saving measures of each state-financed university. The most obvious answer would be to switch to e-learning, but after two years of Covid, the government wanted to keep lectures on the ground. By law, every institution has to have a temperature of 18 degrees at max.

Mild measures

As the total closure of the institution was out of the question, the Eötvös Lóránd University (ELTE) created a commission responsible for energy saving, as a first step. By introducing electric water heaters alone, they will be able to reduce energy usage by about 5 percent. The autumn break was moved to December, which reduces the operation time of the institution in the winter months. Therefore, the more severe measures will only really affect the exam period and the winter break.

The Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) announced that the energy-saving measures would remain in place up until 15 April. The heating of the buildings will be limited and periodical and no other heating appliances are allowed on campus. The intensity of lighting in the buildings will also be limited. Every AC that serves no technological purpose will be turned off. Also, no warm water will be allowed outside of social facilities and dormitories.