Trinity College has asked students to wear more clothes instead of turning on the heating and to only use energy when essential.
The requests come as the college attempts to conserve fuel and electricity in response to the "looming global energy crisis".
In an email today, students living on campus were advised: "Instead of turning up the heating, try wearing additional layers to keep you warm."
Residents were also asked to keep thermostats at 18°C or lower, as "every 1C you turn your thermostat down by saves around €250 per year and reduces carbon emissions into the atmosphere".
College-wide suggestions
Among the suggestions for all students and staff were to turn off lights, computers and appliances at the end of the day or when not in use.
The college also asked staff to "share fridge and freezer space with neighbouring offices and labs".
Additionally, everyone should "only use the amount of water [they] require when cooking, cleaning and filling the kettle".
"Turning off the tap when brushing your teeth can save as much as 1,600 pints, 1,800 500ml bottles, 4,000 cups of tea and 25,600 shots per month", the email said.
“Before consuming energy, ask yourself ‘is this essential?’.”
Trinity said is on track to reach its target of a 50% increase in energy efficiency by 2030 (from 2006 to 2008).
"Accelerating climate change, uncertainty about security of supply and unprecedented prices hikes in all our utilities are now major issues for both Trinity and each of us in our domestic settings," the message said.
"Before consuming energy, ask yourself ‘is this essential?’."
Energy efficiency goals
The institution claims to be making its own contributions to reducing energy consumption, saying that it has already improved energy efficiency on campus by 35.9% between 2006 and 2021.
Ongoing projects include LED light installations across the college, decarbonising heating and harvesting rainwater.
For its landscaping, the college is gradually phasing out the use of fossil-fueled machinery in favour of electric machinery.
