Sartorial concerns aside, this does raise questions about the effective power saving of some "common sense" strategies. How much electricity does it save wearing a jersey rather than, say, using a blanket or a hot water bottle? Hot water bottles require electricity for the initial heating of the water, as well as the indirect power costs of the processing of the water to the point of delivery, but the amount of water involved is quite small - about a litre or so. Jerseys, on the other hand, need to be washed. Or dry cleaned. Either way, energy is consumed in the process - as much, more, or less than that involved in filling a hot water bottle? I've no idea. But it does raise the question of the hidden costs of "obvious" strategies, and the extent to which the desired outcomes are achieved.
I'll resist the hand-driers-vs-towels debate, and invest electrons instead on clearer comparisons - like natural vs electric light in offices and passages. Where lights are not required for safety - and these are seldom the ones burning - why have them burning after hours in empty buildings, too? Hydroboils left on over weekends might not individually bring on a blackout, but several per building add up. And, while it's still summer and there are clear skies, why not issue each kitchen with an Anahat, which works at least as efficiently as a hydroboil, and has the added advantage of getting people out into the natural light and saving on artificial lighting in the process?
And, with a moratorium on the use of heaters in offices, staff who get drenched waiting for the paltry few Jammie Shuttles to get people to Upper Campus in time for 1st can make bonfires with all those manilla envelopes (preferably unopened) that arrive from Bremner. It would also allow for those shredders that hulk in the corner of every office in Bremner to be traded in for something greener, like hayboxes to stew the communal soup prepared in each department as we all join hands and hug the closest tree.