Fall semester energy challenge kicks off today

With a record number of participating buildings, this semester’s Energy Challenge is expected to yield big savings.

The challenge, which kicks off today and will run through Nov. 12, encourages buildings on campus to reduce the largest percentage of water and electricity usage in comparison to its baseline measurement.

While the general contest rules are the same, this semester’s challenge has one major difference: all buildings on campus are now metered and therefore eligible for the challenge.

IU Director of Sustainability Bill Brown said the effects of full-metering go beyond the number of eligible participants.

“We didn’t want to automatically enter all buildings like we did in the past, so we now require someone to be designated as a representative,” he said. “That way, each building has someone that is actively engaged.”

Buildings will be split into six categories: small academic buildings, large academic buildings, sorority houses, fraternity houses, residence halls and apartment housing complexes.

While residence halls might have an easier time conserving electricity than academic buildings with shared public spaces, Brown said there are simple ways for everyone to participate.

“The most effective and simple way of conserving that doesn’t affect comfort is to turn off things when they’re not in use,” he said. “It sounds really, really simple, but it really helps. It can make a multi-million dollar impact.”

The competition will run simultaneously with the Greenest Floor Challenge, a competition to encourage students to certify their room through the Green Room Certification Program.

To certify, students must meet at least 20 of the 48 criteria listed. Examples of criteria are, “I’ve chosen not to buy a mini-fridge,” “I walk to and from my destination on campus” and “I use reusable shopping bags.”

Each student who certifies will receive a certificate and an eco-friendly water bottle, and the winning floor of each residence hall will be awarded a pizza party.
“My hope is that the incentives and the competitive nature of the challenge will get students excited about engaging in sustainability,” Office of Sustainability intern and senior Haley Long said.

Jerry Williams, senior vice president of the consulting firm hired to assess IU’s energy usage and prepare the Integrated Energy Master Plan, has applauded the Office of Sustainability for initiatives like the Energy Challenge and Greenest Room Challenge.
“There’s a lot of things going on here that are very supportive of this conservation culture, but you have to continue to reinforce it as much as you can,” he said.

To better reinforce conservation patterns, the Office of Sustainability has started to implement the Energy Challenge each fall and spring semester.

When the challenge was only annual, the results did not take into account changing populations as students graduated or moved off campus. Now, results from fall and spring semesters can be compared to assess behavioral changes.

While the Energy Challenge has saved more than $1.2 million in utility bills, 3,673,619 kilowatt hours of electricity and 7,378,873 gallons of water since its inception in 2010, Brown said the behavioral changes are just as important.

“When people learn good energy conservation habits, those habits persist, resulting in significant savings in energy and water throughout the year,” he said.