RESULTS: Colby vs. Bowdoin Dorm Electricity Competition 2015
The Colby vs. Bowdoin Dorm Electricity Competition officially ended on April 22nd after 3.5 weeks of electricity saving, and the results are in: campus-wide, we reduced our electricity consumption by 7%, for a total savings of 8,643 kilowatt hours! This is equal to 6,672 pounds of carbon dioxide averted and $1,123 dollars saved. This is an amazing feat, as it is more than 4 times the electricity saved during the competition last year (2100 kilowatt hours). Nice work Colby! Unfortunately, Bowdoin barely edged us out with a 9% reduction from their baseline. However, we steadily improved and tightened the gap for the duration of the competition, so given a little more time it’s possible we would have come out on top. Together, we saved 22,448 kWh between our two campuses, and ultimately this competition was about saving electricity and reducing our energy footprint, so mission accomplished! Although we didn’t beat Bowdoin, we reached our goal of saving over 5,000 kWh campus-wide, so the Sustainability Office will be funding a water bottle filling station in Diamond for everyone’s use.
For the inter-dorm competition at Colby, Williams came out victoriously with an impressive 18.2% reduction. The residents of Williams will be receiving a Chipotle catered dinner before the end of the semester, courtesy of the Sustainability Office. The Alfond Senior Apartments were close behind with a 16% reduction. The apartment with the largest percentage reduction, Apartment 111/211, will also be receiving Chipotle gift cards. An honorable mention goes to Heights for having the largest amount of kilowatt hours conserved, with 1,926.
Although this was a fun and friendly competition, we sincerely hope it taught you some good energy-saving habits that you can continue to practice throughout the year, not just during the 3.5 week competition. If you ever have any questions regarding electricity consumption or sustainability at Colby, contact [email protected] or your dorm’s EcoRep.