FSA Works To Make Campus Residence Laundry Rooms More Sustainable

STONY BROOK, NY, April 14, 2010 – In an effort to make campus operations more sustainable, the Faculty Student Association (FSA) at Stony Brook University announced that it has installed new Energy Star rated clothes washers and dryers to replace old machines in residence halls. FSA is the nonprofit organization responsible for providing auxiliary services to the campus.

“Half of the new washing machines in each laundry room are front loading, which are more energy efficient than the top loading machines,” said Anthony Gentile, Manager of Machine Operated Services, Faculty Student Association. “The new front load washers use less water for the same size wash cycle, and have a high speed spin cycle of 800 RPM’s. This results in maximum water extraction before the wash cycle ends, reducing the amount of time needed in the dryer.”

Anthony Gentile also said that new top loading machines have a unique “small load” cycle option that uses less water for smaller loads, rather than filling the machine to capacity each time.

In addition, Mendelsohn and H-Quads now feature cold water use washing machines in half of the washers in each laundry room, saving the extra energy it takes to produce hot water. The dryers are more efficient as well, because the amount of heat required during the dry cycle is now controllable.

Additionally, FSA has purchased light motion sensors for the laundry rooms which are installed in Kelly, Roosevelt, Tabler, Roth, Chapin Apartments and West Apartments A to J. The motion sensors automatically turn out the lights after the area is clear of people, preventing energy from lighting an empty room.

The Faculty Student Association provides a variety of other services to the campus, including health insurance, locker rentals, and student staffing assistance. To learn more about the FSA and follow its progress as it works to make laundry services even more sustainable, visit stonybrook.edu/fsa.