Energy Evolution Month

You may have noticed a rise in energy awareness this month: the “Energy Idol” concert, residence halls posters about conserving water and electricity and door-to-door energy audits. This was not a coincidence, but the work of Luther’s Environmental Concerns Organization for Energy Evolution Month.

Starting in early February and moving into March, students from ECO work with the Sustainability office to record water and electricity usage in every residence hall. They plan events such as local food nights, put up signs and help record data.

“It takes a lot of planning, and this group is so dedicated,” Madeline Ford (‘13), leading ECO member of the month, said.

Maren Stumme-Diers, assistant sustainability manager, collects data from Facilities to let ECO know how much electricity and water is being used.

“Luther’s got some really great metering technologies,” Stumme-Diers said. “All of the campus buildings are hooked up to this energy management system.”

While those two figures are the only conservation factors recorded, ECO tries to promote awareness in other areas as well. Each week, the month had a theme: the first was lighting, the second was water use, the third was electronics and “phantom load” (the electricity used when plugged-in devices are not turned on) and the fourth was heating. Events and posters were set up to match the themes of each week.

So, how did Luther do? Students might remember that the Energy Evolution period last year included a competition with Wartburg. There was no such competition this year, as focus shifted away from beating other colleges to working on the individual school’s conservation. Unfortunately, the results have not been terribly dramatic.

For one week during Energy Evolution Month, there was a competition between residence halls to see who could conserve the most energy or make the biggest improvements. The winners would be rewarded with a pizza party. As the week came to a close, there was no improvement big enough to warrant any reward.

When asked if the 2010 Winter Olympics might have affected energy consumption, Ford said it was ambiguous; it was difficult to safely say if it was a factor or not.

“I think a lot of college students are disconnected from the cost of energy and water, because those bills are paid for us,” Stumme-Diers said.

Next year’s Energy Evolution Month may be more successful in convincing students to work on their energy-saving skills because it will be a national competition.

At the month’s end, ECO and Sustainability are still working hard to both promote energy awareness and to upgrade Luther’s systems for better energy conservation. Just recently, study lounge computers were changed to shut off after an hour of being left idle instead of the previous two hours. Plans to replace the high-pressure showerheads in Brandt with new, lower pressure heads are also in place.