Case Western Reserve University is participating for the first time in Campus Conservation Nationals, a three-week national residence hall competition to reduce electricity usage.
For the competition, residence halls have been split into three competition groups by area to compete for prizes: the North Residential Village vs. Northwest vs. Southside. So far, Southside has reduced the most, with nearly 10 percent reduction in energy use in the first week. Southside and Northwest are at 3.8 percent and 2.3 percent reduction, respectively. Follow the competition at buildingdashboard.net/case/.
Northwest and The Village can try to grab the cup away from Southside by tweaking a few daily behaviors, such as:
- take the stairs instead of the elevator,
- turn out lights when there is access to daylight or you are the last to leave the room,
- unplug charger cords or put them on a power strip that can be turned off when things aren’t charging, and
- turn off computers and monitors when not in use.
For more energy-saving ideas, print out an electricity savings pledge from at facebook.com/CWRUSustainability. If Residence Hall Association members see the pledge on a participant’s suite door, they’ll be entered into weekly drawings for Kill-a-watt meters, smart power strips and other prizes.