City hall in Pitt Meadows was recently invaded by some loudly dressed tacky tourists - all in an effort to continue its downward trend in energy consumption.

Energy consumption at City hall dropped by almost 50,000 kW hours between 2009 and 2011, and so far in 2012, per month usage is still dropping, reported Laurie Darcus, who is in charge of green initiatives at the City.

"A lot of this reduction can be contributed to staff behaviours," Darcus said, for example, staff working with the lights off using only natural light, staff turning off power bars and monitors when they're not in use, and the installation of light sensors to shut off lights in rooms that aren't being used.

Tacky Tourist Day was a regular work day at Pitt Meadows City hall, but it was sponsored by BC Hydro and their Workplace Conservation Awareness program. City staff were given more tips on saving energy:

- Closing or semi-closing blinds on hot days to reduce the demand on the air-conditioning system.

- Locating thermostats away from any heat-generating equipment or in direct sunlight; otherwise it might give inaccurate temperature readings.

- Keeping doors and windows closed to keep cooled or heated air in and reduce the need for HVAC system.

- Advice on fans: ceiling fans running counter-clockwise (in summer) are good for dispersing hot pockets of air so the air-conditioning sys tem doesn't need to work as hard, but personal fans use energy, generate heat, and generally do not help with air flow.

mrantanen@mrtimes.com