PSU Students Do It in the Dark, Save Big On Energy
Plymouth State University students saved nearly 12,000 kilowatts of electricity in a very successful energy-saving competition.
Danielle Dustin, Samuel Read Hall residence director who organized the ‘Do It in the Dark’ contest, reports students saved 11,764 kilowatt hours of energy during the one-month competition that ran during the month of November. Dustin reports the combined energy savings from all residence halls are the equivalent of 196,067 60-watt light bulbs burning for 16 hours each.
When the contest first started, Dustin noted that each on-campus student spends an average of $731 each semester on energy costs. In an effort to head off future cost increases or to possibly even lower the current costs, students had been asked to turn off and unplug computers, appliances and other such items when they were not being used, and to turn off the lights when they left their rooms or the various common areas. To help motivate the students, the winning residence hall was promised half priced laundry for a month and a t-shirt for each resident.
Here is a breakdown of how much energy each residence hall saved:
Blair - 3,899 kilowatt hours
Belknap - 3,371 kilowatt hours
Smith - 3,281 kilowatt hours
Grafton - 1,857 kilowatt hours
Mary Lyon - 1,236 kilowatt hours
Pemi - 423 kilowatt hours
Hall - 45 kilowatt hours
Langdon Woods - 2348 kilowatt hours
The Do It in the Dark competition proves PSU students are serious about saving energy and can achieve an impressive goal. In the long-term, all of these students have learned to be more cognizant of their energy use and the need to conserve.
