If empowering people with information is the first step toward changing their habits, University officials appear to be on the right track. This semester, a "building dashboard" has been placed in Newcomb Hall, allowing passersby to see the building's energy consumption numbers in real time. Both a kiosk on the building's third floor and a Web site offer statistics about electricity, heating, cooling and water utilities, as well as general information about environmental sustainability efforts at the University.
The building dashboard raises student and staff awareness of energy consumption and is a great start toward furthering the goal of sustainability. The University has made plans to expand the module to other locations, the first of which will be Campbell Hall. Although academic buildings are suitable locations for these dashboards, a more logical move would be to introduce them in the University's dormitories. Students can get a sense of energy consumption's impact by viewing the Newcomb monitor, but a dormitory system would allow them to see the effects of reduced consumption firsthand. Students have a direct role in shaping the electricity and water usage in their residence halls, so the dashboards could result in more real and immediate behavioral change.
Fortunately, administrators exercised sound judgment in the development of this idea. In the past, the University has often shown a preference for using open-source software or other external platforms as the basis for its technical systems, and then building the rest of the system in-house to customize it to the University's needs. The method for designing UVaCollab offers an example of this technique. This is not a poor approach for some systems, but for one like the building dashboard, contracting an outside company seems to have been the most practical solution. It also allowed the product to be up and running quickly and should make expanding it to other sites relatively easy.
By introducing the dashboards to other locations, particularly dorms, the University can both further reduce its environmental impact and make a wise business investment. Though it will cost money to expand the system, even extremely modest reductions in energy use over time should offset that initial expense. In fact, given that many economists expect long-term energy costs to increase for the foreseeable future, even small lifestyle changes could translate into substantial savings down the road.
Given the yearly transition of dorm residents, a continuous effort would have to be made to inform students of the monitor and to engage them with the program. That objective could easily be accomplished by publicizing the dashboard in annual housing materials and information sessions, especially for first-year students. By encouraging students to use this hands-on tool to gauge dorm energy consumption and to monitor their environmental impact, the University can encourage green living habits early on in students' college careers. Moreover, events like energy savings competitions on Grounds could be further enriched and promoted through the use of this tool.
All told, the expansion of this system makes both environmental and economic sense. Sustainability is worthwhile in its own right, but it will not easily catch on in the greater community without first accounting for two factors. First, sustainability efforts should be hands-on and user-accessible whenever possible, instead of vague appeals to people's senses. Second, they should be cost-effective. The building dashboards present a rare opportunity to satisfy both criteria and drive the idea of sustainability home for students.
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