Monday, January 31, 2011

Do it in the Dark Winners! ...and losers...


The results for Do it in the Dark's first month of energy monitoring (November) have been calculated by Physical Plant! There are winning houses in two different categories; the least total energy (btu/square foot) of all woodframes and the most improved energy usage compared to the same house (during the same month) the previous year.

And the winners are...

Least Total Energy (per sq foot):
118 Knowles Ave

Most Improved:
21 Vine Street

Congrats to the winners! They will be receiving a check for a free dinner at La Boca within the week!

And now for the losers! The following houses are the worst consumers of energy on campus and should attempt to lessen their usage...

Highest Energy Consumers (per sq foot):
51 Fountain
273 Pine
76 Lawn
107 Cross
29 Miles

Least Improved From Last Year:
107 Cross Street
69 Fountain
273 Pine
51 Fountain
109 Cross

See below for energy-saving tips!

Tips to reduce your energy consumption!


Heating:

-If the heat is on and feels too hot, don’t open windows—turn the heat down! Open windows are the biggest wood-frame energy-waster.
-Keep your heat on between 65o-70o during the winter.

Lighting:

-Always turn off the lights when you leave a room.
-Wesleyan-provided lighting is the most efficient but if you require additional lighting, use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL). They use 75% less energy than conventional incandescent bulbs and last 10 times longer. They’re available for purchase at Weshop.
-Don’t leave your decorative lighting (string lights, etc) on all the time
-Just because you didn’t leave the light on doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be one to turn it off…turn living room/kitchen lights off when you see that no one’s using them.

In the Kitchen:

-Cover pots when cooking or boiling water
-Don’t use an extra refrigerator. Fridges use an extraordinary amount of electricity, and mini-fridges are even less efficient.
-Set fridge on lower settings: very cold settings use more energy and can spoil your food and make your beer explode.
-Buy plates and silverware rather than using plastics and try to use actual towels instead of paper ones
-Start composting…you can get a free bucket from the Composting Committee by emailing them at wesleyancompost@gmail.com. When its full, you just empty it into the Green Machine nearest you. Keep in mind that meat and dairy can’t be composted.
-If you’re having a small party, use your reusable cups. If you use solo cups, you can recycle them with other plastics.
-Warning: Plastic cups from Usdan Cafe/Pi may say that they are compostable but CANNOT be used in your personal composting bucket. They can, however, be recycled.
-Recycling is easy; any plastic that has the numbers 1-7 written inside the recycling triangle CAN be recycled. This includes plastic containers for sandwiches, yogurt, coffee-cup lids, etc.

Water Usage:

-Hot water comes from your house's internal combustion system, so it takes a lot of energy to produce—reduce your hot shower time by shaving/washing your face/brushing your teeth outside the shower.
-If it’s yellow let it mellow.
-Don’t leave the water on while you wash the dishes—wash the dish, turn the water on to rinse the dish.
-When you are doing laundry use the bright clothes cycle (it won’t change how your clothes look and will use less water)
-Use a laundry rack to dry your clothing/towels— The average home clothes dryer has a carbon footprint of approximately 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of CO2 per load of laundry dried


Computers:

-One computer left on 24 hours a day dumps 1,500 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.
-Put your computer on standby/sleep—don’t use a screensaver
-Use power management features on your computer (>System Preferences >Energy Saver for Macs). Tell it to turn-off your screen after 5 minutes and go on stand-by after 15 minutes.

Appliances:

-Unplug when you’re not using it! Many electronics like chargers, laptop cords, printers, and speakers consume energy while plugged in—even if they aren’t “on”.
-Use a power strip or surge protector so you can just switch it off to turn off all those appliances.
-When you leave for break—unplug everything!

Do it in the Dark Energy Competition

Do it in the Dark is Wesleyan's annual energy saving competition. We gather data regarding energy usage in each of the woodframe and program houses on campus and determine who are the best and the worst energy users. Shockingly the worst users use as much as 25 times more energy than their more frugal neighbors. Help us help the planet by cutting down your usage NOW!


We measure total energy consumption which includes gas, electrical, and oil. That means hot water, lights, computers, thermostats and everything else count, so start turning your sh@#$ down. The best house each month wins a free dinner of their choice in Middletown.