Campus Life

USU Buildings Compete to Save Energy

Energy Wars victory breakfast held in the Agricultural Science building.

The winners of Utah State University’s Energy Wars are the Living Learning Community (LLC) and Natural Resources building. Every October and November the competition encourages students, faculty and staff to be more mindful of the steps they take to conserve energy.

This year the LLC showed consistent energy reduction during the whole of the competition with an impressive 8.6 percent reduction in their energy consumption from last year. In the academic building division, the Natural Resources building was the overall competition winner with the Agricultural Science building winning at the October midpoint.

The annual Energy Wars competition is held by the USU Sustainability Council, Facilities and Housing to promote energy conservation on campus. This is the second year that academic buildings have participated in Energy Wars alongside housing. This year however, two new buildings were added: Education and Agricultural Science. Throughout the months of October and November, energy consumption of Old Main, ENGR, NR, FAV, EDUC, AGRS and BNR were tracked and measured against an energy baseline by USU facilities.

In housing, students were most involved by turning off lights, lowering the thermostat and remembering to turn off game consoles. As a result the LLC was awarded the grand prize of $500 in their activities budget.

In the academic division, Agricultural Science won for October whereas Natural Resources took the lead in the competition overall with 7.1 percent energy reduction.

“This competition is always a good occasion to help people at USU be more conscious of how much energy we use and how simple actions can make a significant impact,” said Green Office Program coordinator Terra Pace.

Both the Natural Resources and Agricultural Science colleges were awarded a free breakfast and the Natural Resources building will house the Energy Wars trophy until next year.

About the USU Sustainability Council
The Utah State University Sustainability Council formed in 2007 after the university became a signatory to the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). The Council seeks to reduce carbon emissions as well as conserve resources and enhance quality of life by promoting sustainability in USU’s academic and service missions.

About Energy Wars
It is a competition created through USU facilities and the Sustainability Council to promote campus wide conservation of energy between buildings in housing and academic buildings. 2017 is the sixth year housing has competed and the second in which academic buildings have participated in the competition.
 

Contacts: Terra Pace, USU Green Office Coordinator, terrapace18@gmail.com, 801-651-6894
Gary Philips, USU Housing Area Coordinator, gary.phillips@usu.edu, 435-797-0683
Traci Hillyard, NR Dean’s Assistant, traci.hillyard@usu.edu, 435-797-2452
 

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