Sometimes you realize that you have never even considered the impact of everyday things that you see all the time but never think about.
Take for instance, vending machines. Southern Methodist University in Texas is equipping all the vending machines on its campus with a device called the VendingMiser. The device is smart enough to know when no one is around, and it powers down the vending machine, and then powers it back up in time so that the drinks are cool when someone wants to buy one.
Sounds minor, right?
But get this. SMU spends $40K a year on vending machine energy costs! That’s a small university with only a few thousand students. And the device is going to save them $12,000 a year. That’s $1,000 a month in SAVINGS.
The VendingMiser costs $180 for each one.
Using VendingMisers, small devices by USA Technologies that plug into drink machines, SMU has shaved 30 percent – or about $2,400 – off its electricity bills.
The device powers down the machine when it senses that the surrounding area is vacant, monitors a room’s temperature and automatically repowers the cooling system at intervals to make sure drinks stay cold.
Eventually, SMU says, it will install 100 VendingMisers throughout campus, which will save $12,000 on its annual energy expenses of $40,000 for vending machines. Each VendingMiser unit costs about $180.
No wonder you have to pay $1 or more to buy a coke!
