First-year students living on McCormick and Alderman Roads reduced their dormitories' energy consumption compared to last year's residents for a one-month span in this year's First Year Dorm Energy Challenge.
McCormick Road residents won the initiative, which ran from Oct. 13 to Nov. 10, by reducing the building's consumption by 19 percent. Alderman Road residents, meanwhile, managed a 13-percent decrease.
Now in its fourth year, the energy challenge has seen a significant decrease in consumption since its inception. In the McCormick Road dormitories, the number of kilowatts consumed per hour per person has been cut nearly in half during the past four years, from an average 182.6 kilowatts per hour in 2006 to 99.3 kilowatts per hour this year. Because of ongoing construction, statistics on student consumption for this time frame are not available for Alderman Road dormitories. Nevertheless, between these two residence areas, this year's reduction saved $4,380 in energy bills.
Each year, the energy meter at each of the residences is measured at the beginning, middle and end of the challenge. The participants reduced their energy consumption entirely through behavioral changes, such as turning off their computers at night.
The reductions in energy consumption represent a big step for the University's environmental community as it "helped students realize that every little thing they do really does make a huge impact," said Nina Morris, sustainability outreach coordinator for Facilities Management.
Students feel that the small changes they made went a long way in reducing energy consumption.
"Many first-year students have become involved with the environmental [contracted independent organizations] and awareness campaigns," First-Year Council President Ann Laurence Baumer said.
The challenge's success and increase in general awareness of environmental issues indicate a more informed, proactive student body.
"People are becoming more interested in sustainability," said Rebecca Oppenheim, coordinator of Sustainability Advocates, a group of student volunteers associated with University Sustainability. "It definitely seems to be a lot more 'in' than it was ... four years ago."
University Sustainability aims to continue to heighten interest in confronting environmental problems by encouraging students to make small changes in their everyday lives, such as unplugging electronics, hibernating or turning off computers and turning lights off when they leave the room.
The Sustainability Advocates plan to continue to promote environmental sustainability through their website and an energy fair during Earth Week, where students will be able to learn more about how to reduce energy.
After the success of the Dorm Energy Challenge, the University is considering taking part in a national competition for energy conservation known as The Campus Conservation National.
"We're having such positive results that [we] feel ready to compete on a national scale," Morris said.
The Campus Conservation Nationals is a national campaign that ranks "individual residence halls and campuses based on their percentage reduction against a baseline"
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