Turn down for Watt?!
On the first Wednesday of each month, Humboldt State University powers down and aims to reduce electricity usage campus-wide to conserve energy, save money, and reduce CO2 emissions.
Power Down HSU is a behavior change campaign to reduce the use of unnecessary electricity and raise awareness about conserving energy in our HSU community. From 8am-5pm, we ask all students, staff and faculty to power down by making an extra special effort to conserve and avoid using unnecessary energy! See Tips to Power Down to learn ways to participate! |
Logo created by Abigail Lowell, November 2018
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During each Power Down day, Green Campus students also take targeted action using guerrilla teams to save energy and spread the word on campus. See Guerrilla Teams to learn more!
Data analyst Megan Moore compares campus energy usage during Power Down to average energy use on the three prior Wednesdays to calculate each month's savings. If you have any questions about Power Down, please email Megan at [email protected]!
Fall 2019
Spring 2019
May Power Down Analysis
May Power Down Analysis
April Power Down Analysis
March Power Down Analysis
Fall 2018
We used less electricity than during Power Down on September 5,
but we used more energy than the average Wednesday in September
during Power Down on October 3:
40 kilowatt-hours more than baseline
$5.60 more than baseline
60 pounds of CO2 emissions more than baseline
Higher usage may have to do with the days getting colder and darker, but let’s continue the trend of improvement and conserve even more energy next month on November 7. Power down if you know Watt is good for Btu!
but we used more energy than the average Wednesday in September
during Power Down on October 3:
40 kilowatt-hours more than baseline
$5.60 more than baseline
60 pounds of CO2 emissions more than baseline
Higher usage may have to do with the days getting colder and darker, but let’s continue the trend of improvement and conserve even more energy next month on November 7. Power down if you know Watt is good for Btu!
September-October Data Analysis
Unfortunately, we used more energy than the average Wednesday in August
during our first Power Down day of the semester on September 5:
219 kilowatt-hours more than baseline
$30 more than baseline
327 pounds of CO2 emissions more than baseline
Let's make an extra special effort to reduce energy usage on-campus on October 3!
Join the dark side because saving energy is a BRIGHT idea!
during our first Power Down day of the semester on September 5:
219 kilowatt-hours more than baseline
$30 more than baseline
327 pounds of CO2 emissions more than baseline
Let's make an extra special effort to reduce energy usage on-campus on October 3!
Join the dark side because saving energy is a BRIGHT idea!
August-September Data Analysis
Overall, the HSU campus used 219.60 more kWh of electricity on Power Down than on the average Wednesday leading up to Power Down. This caused the campus to spend $30.744 more on electricity on the day of Power Down than it did on the average Wednesdays leading up to Power Down and to produce 326.765 pounds of CO2 more on the day of Power Down than it did on the average Wednesdays leading up to Power Down.
To improve the energy savings of the next Power Down, we propose to:
To improve the energy savings of the next Power Down, we propose to:
- organize guerrilla teams more efficiently
- chalk in more areas
- stake around campus
- increase the number of class announcements
- write on whiteboards and chalkboards in classrooms where appropriate
- create a Power Down flyer for the semester
Spring 2018
The graph above shows that HSU campus used less energy (measured in kwH=kilowatt-hours) on Power Down days than a baseline of average energy use on Wednesdays between 8am and 5pm during the spring semester of 2018.
The data table below shows the savings by month for the spring semester of 2018.
The energy data was analyzed and the graph and table were compiled by project coordinator Megan Moore.
The data table below shows the savings by month for the spring semester of 2018.
The energy data was analyzed and the graph and table were compiled by project coordinator Megan Moore.
Challenging Apathy When It Comes To Campus Energy Use
While college students are studying for midterms, socializing at parties, and applying to part-time jobs, they are not considering their energy usage. The same is true for professors and administrators who are only on campus for a limited number of hours each day and more often than not, enter a classroom or office where the lights, projectors, and office equipment are already turned on and ready to go. This apathy among energy users—largely driven by a lack of knowledge—is the challenge that campus energy managers face as they work to make strides in energy efficiency.
What if energy mangers were not alone in their efforts? What if everyone on campus participated in the challenge? This is exactly what happens during Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN), the largest energy and water reduction competition for colleges and universities in the world, which just finished its fourth year on April 25. A partnership between Lucid, the Center for Green Schools at USGBC, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Alliance to Save Energy, CCN 2014 had 109 schools, 1330 buildings, and 265,000 students and staff participate.
So what happens when everyone participates? Cumulatively these schools saved over 2.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity—equivalent to three million pounds of CO2 and $196,000.
While college students are studying for midterms, socializing at parties, and applying to part-time jobs, they are not considering their energy usage. The same is true for professors and administrators who are only on campus for a limited number of hours each day and more often than not, enter a classroom or office where the lights, projectors, and office equipment are already turned on and ready to go. This apathy among energy users—largely driven by a lack of knowledge—is the challenge that campus energy managers face as they work to make strides in energy efficiency.
What if energy mangers were not alone in their efforts? What if everyone on campus participated in the challenge? This is exactly what happens during Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN), the largest energy and water reduction competition for colleges and universities in the world, which just finished its fourth year on April 25. A partnership between Lucid, the Center for Green Schools at USGBC, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Alliance to Save Energy, CCN 2014 had 109 schools, 1330 buildings, and 265,000 students and staff participate.
So what happens when everyone participates? Cumulatively these schools saved over 2.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity—equivalent to three million pounds of CO2 and $196,000.
Fall 2017
Contact Megan Moore at [email protected] with questions or interest!