Crimson Conserve 2022
This October, The UA Department of Energy Management revived their annual energy saving competition, Crimson Conserve. It was a battle amongst the campus residence halls to determine which community could reduce the greatest percentage of energy usage per square foot. Energy saving advice was broadcast to the student body in hopes that they would implement said practices within their living spaces. The halls were monitored over a two-week course (October 17-30) to determine which building produced the greatest margin of savings.
The residency that prevailed… was Lakeside East! By the narrowest of margins, Lakeside East reduced their energy consumption per square foot by 14.85%, with Blount Hall in a close second with 14.66%. In total, the residence halls saved a total of 80,318 kWh over the two-week period, which equates to $6,425. If continued, these behaviors would amount to $158,625 of savings in just one year!
A championship party was held on Thursday, November 17th which included cake and refreshments, a visit from Big Al, and the presentation of the framed championship certificate.
The Department of Energy Management utilizes smart meters to monitor energy usage across campus. Each building uses them to measure the electrical consumption on fifteen-minute intervals. This data is compiled on the Crimson Energy Connection Dashboard which is available to all students, staff, and faculty. This technology facilitated the findings of the energy competition. Our social media (@UAEnergyMgmt on IG and FB) also posted occasional leaderboard updates that indicated which residence halls were in the top five, to motivate friendly competition.
The idea of a residence hall energy competition has been executed by many other universities in an effort to teach students conservation practices. Donnie Grill, an Energy Engineer for the Department of Energy Management, implemented the event here at UA beginning in the Fall of 2016. Our intent of hosting this competition is to share simple energy management practices that will benefit our campus freshmen, and the planet. Many students currently residing on campus will have a utility bill of their own to pay in the near future, and this initiative will equip them with skills to minimize their consumption and costs. Events like this will reduce the demand on our Earth’s natural resources by encouraging the preservation of energy and water.
We hope the competition developed new habits amongst students, that are more energy efficient than their prior behaviors. We congratulate Lakeside East for their victory, and look forward to developing future conservation efforts to engage students in energy management.