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Thank you ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ student residents for participating in the Annual Campus Energy Contest this year! The contest, run by the ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Office of Energy & Sustainability’s Student Ambassadors, ran from October 31 through November 18th. The Office appreciates every resident who made an effort to reduce their energy usage. In total, participants saved 3,905 kWh, which is about $312 saved in energy costs over the 19-day contest.

Even though the contest is over, Individuals can continue conserving energy in their rooms by:

• Unplugging appliances with vampire loads (e.g. things that always have a small light on such as coffee makers, fans, gaming systems, etc...)

• Switching off or unplugging power strips when not in use

• Turning off the lights when leaving rooms

• Taking the stairs instead of the elevator for free exercise

• Opening doors by hand instead of using the handicap button - save the buttons for those who need them (or when your hands are full!)

Now for the moment everyone has been waiting for... the top three buildings that reduced their energy during this year's contest are:

1. Storrs                       (7.9% reduction)
2. Sherman                  (6.1% reduction)
3. Phi Delta Theta        (3.9% reduction

Congratulations to Storrs for winning a solar-charging picnic table!  Watch for the installation and a new place to relax and power-up during spring semester!

Unfortunately, four out of the 32 residence halls or houses INCREASED their energy usage significantly during the contest:

1. Sigma Chi/Phi Kappa Tau (4.59% increase),

2. Kusch (4.62% increase),

3. Sigma Psi/Kappa Alpha Theta (5.84% increase) and

4. Phi Sigma Rho with a whopping 9.12% increase  

Our Ambassadors hope to work with some of these locations to determine what caused such large increases, and to help them be ready for next year’s contest!

Even though this year's contest is over, your efforts to reduce energy needs have a positive impact on the environmental and improve local health by lowering local air pollution caused by electricity generation. Remember, individual actions do add up and make a difference!