Tuesday marked the end of the College’s annual campus-wide “Do It In the Dark” energy conservation competition. Osher Hall came in first place with a 27.1 percent reduction in energy compared to the month of September. Coles Tower came in second place with a net energy reduction of 23.8 percent and Burnett House came in third place with a reduction of 23.3 percent.
As a whole, the campus reduced energy consumption by nine percent for the month of October.
“We’ve surpassed other years, quite a few other years by a few thousand kilowatt hours, which is pretty impressive,” Bowdoin Sustainability Coordinator Keisha Payson said.
“The main purpose of this event is to start off somewhat early in the year actually thinking about how our actions use energy, or at least trying to think and frame our ideas about trying to incorporate more sustainable actions,” said First Year Eco Rep Coordinator Bridger Tomlin ’17.
Eco Reps work with Bowdoin’s Office of Sustainability to promote environmentally-conscious habits among students. During the “Do It In the Dark” energy competition, they encourage students to complete their regular everyday activities in less energy-intensive ways—for example, by turning off the lights.
However, results in the competition aren’t entirely determined by student actions. Tomlin cited the presence of elevators and the enthusiasm of eco reps as two factors that contributed to a dorm’s overall success.
In addition, Payson pointed out that inefficient heating systems can also use disproportionate amounts of energy, disadvantaging certain buildings, especially as most buildings begin to need heat with cooler October weather. Chamberlin Hall came in last place with a 24.3 percent increase in energy consumption, potentially due to such deficiencies.
Howell House dealt with an inefficient heating system in past years, although the problem was fixed last year, and the house placed fourth in this year’s contest.
“For years Howell House was doing poorly in the energy competition, and I was like what are they doing over there?” said Payson.
After reviewing data that allows for real-time tracking of the building’s energy consumption, Payson and others discovered that water pumps were to blame and they were replaced.
Payson hopes that energy-saving habits that students acquired during October will persist throughout the year. She noted that if students encounter any issues this winter, such as thermostats that are set too high or toilets that autoflush too often, they should put in a work order as soon as possible to fix those issues and avoid wasting valuable energy.