Santa Clara University

sustainability at scu
energy challenge
 

The 3rd Annual Energy Challenge began on Sunday, January 15. Competition duration: Winter Quarter, weeks 2-10

The Energy Challenge encourages campus residents to examine their power usage and find ways to reduce wasted energy use.  

Rather than rivaling against one another, residence halls attempt to reduce their building's electricity consumption in comparison to data from previous years. Students in the top-conserving building, and those in the building with the most enthusiasm for energy conservation will win!

In the spirit of the game and competition, the Energy Challenge includes other activities to unify both the Residential Learning Communities (RLCs) on campus and off-campus residents under the message of the importance of energy conservation. Activities include:

  • Campus-wide voluntary "Zero-Energy Hour" (January 31, 8-9pm)
  • Eco-Fashion Show (February 2, 8:30 pm, California Mission Room)
  • and more!

Standings

final-results

Final Results for the Energy Challenge
Congratulations to Casa Italiana, the official winner of the 2012 SCU Energy Challenge!

As the winner of this year's Energy Challenge, the da Vinci RLC will receive 5 refurbished bikes for the community to share, along with helmets, U-locks, and other bike accessories.

"Most Enthusiasm" is still up for grabs!
The winner of the "Most Enthusiasm" title will be announced the first week of spring quarter. The residents of the most enthusiastic building will receive a cool, color-changing cup. In addition, the winning building's carbon emissions for winter quarter will be offset.

Residence Life staff is asked to complete a brief end-of-challenge survey by Friday, March 23 at 5 p.m. to:

  • Earn enthusiasm points
  • Nominate student leaders to be recognized for their work in promoting the 2012 Energy Challenge
  • Provide comments/suggestions for Energy Challenges in the future.
If the CFs, ARD, and RD of any building all respond to our survey, they will earn 10 extra enthusiasm points (in total) for their building. The respondents of that staff will also each receive a free water bottle, courtesy of the Housing Office and the Office of Sustainability.

 Thank you to all for your participation in this year's Energy Challenge.

Read about how to earn points for most enthusiasm. See current enthusiasm standings, and how each building earned its points.

To read the graph: the horizontal line represents expected use for each residence hall. The further below the line each building is, the more energy its residents conserved that week!

  • energy graphHow to check your real-time electricity use

    See how much energy your building is using, right now, last week, or last year! View SCU's Energy Manager Public Dashboard.

  • moveoutewastesmTips to conserve energy

    Participate in energy-conserving activities. Turn off lights when you leave the room. Turn off computers when not in use. Unplug electric appliances when not in use.

    Roughly 80% of a building's electricity consumption is related to lighting and electronic appliances. (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning account for the other 20%). This means student behavior can have a big impact on energy use in SCU residence halls!

    Tips to reduce your electricity consumption: 

    • Open the shades and use as much natural light as possible.
    • Instead of watching TV in your room, get the whole floor/house together and watch a show on just 1 TV.
    • Unplug cell phone and computer chargers when not in use. Even if it’s not running, plugged-in chargers and appliances use “phantom energy.”
    • Make sure to turn off the lights in any room you aren’t in - especially the bathrooms.
    • Replace regular light bulbs with CFLs.
    • Instead of turning on the air conditioner or fans, keep your windows open at night and early in the morning and shut them during the hottest parts of the day to keep your room/house cool.
    • Plug your appliances into a power strip, and turn the whole strip off when not using any of the appliances.
    • Don’t pre-heat your oven any longer than necessary. Ten minutes should be enough.
    • Only run the dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer if they’re full, don’t do half loads.
    • When buying a new appliance or electronic device, look for the EnergyStar label, which certifies that the product meets a standard of energy efficiency.

  • swig hallHow the Energy Challenge Works

    Each residence hall competes against itself. Expected power consumption for each building has been calculated on a per capita basis, as an average of the past three years' electricity consumption during Winter Quarter. Effectively, current residents are trying to use less energy than past residents of their same building. Buildings are compared to each other based on their respective savings, compared to each historical average.

  • socketUpdates will be provided weekly

    Campus residents will be notified of their standings each week via the following:

  • energy challenge roundPrizes

    Two grand prizes: 

    • Community bicycles for the residence hall with the highest percentage reduction overall, relative to its baseline.
    • Offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions of the residence hall with the most enthusiastic residents*.
    Mid-quarter prizes based on weekly electricity conservation:
    • LED Flashlight keychains to residents of the building that conserves the most electricity during Week 4.
    • Solar panel charger kit to be raffled to a resident in the building with the most cumulative energy conserved (relative to past usage) by the end of Week 6.
    • Water bottles to residents of the building that conserves the most electricity during Week 8.
    *How "enthusiasm" is measured:
    • Percentage of residents who attend the Eco-Fashion and Art Show (2/2, 8:30pm, California Mission Room) and learn about energy use associated with the fashion industry (production, transportation, and disposal of materials) as well as re-purposing and re-use of goods.
    • Residents' posts on Sustainability at SCU Facebook page. We're looking for examples of how you conserve energy in your room, floor, and building.
    • Feedback from Resident Directors about overall awareness and enthusiasm in their building. Are there energy awareness events? Are residents trying hard to conserve energy?
    • See an outline of enthusiasm scoring.

  • lightsWhy reduce electricity usage?

    Santa Clara University has a goal to become climate neutral by the end of 2015. One of the ways we will achieve this is to dramatically reduce our electricity use. Roughly 80% of a building's electricity consumption is related to lighting and electronic appliances. (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning account for the other 20%). This means student behavior can have a big impact on energy use in SCU residence halls! Campus initiatives like designing more energy-efficient buildings as well as upgrading lighting and heating systems continue to help us get closer to our goal. Ultimately, however, our success depends on the daily habits of our campus users, especially campus residents who spend most of their time here.

  • students in circleProgramming Ideas for Community Facilitators

    The Office of Sustainability has compiled a list of suggestions for programming to increase awareness and enthusiasm among campus residents. Feel free to use these ideas as a starting point to develop your own!

 
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