Last week saw the coldest weather Hampton Roads has seen in a generation, with cold and snow and school cancellations. Not exactly the most conducive climate for energy conservation.
That hasn't stopped Old Dominion University residence students from enthusiastically supporting the ODU Energy Challenge, a three-week long energy conservation competition between 20 residence halls, and against the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University.
With a week of measurement to go, Virginia House is the leading energy conserving residence hall, with a 7.8 percent reduction from the baseline measurement taken in January. France House and England House are tied for second place, with a 4.4 percent reduction.
In the overall competition, ODU is in second place, trailing Richmond, but ahead of VCU, which won a competition last year against U of R.
Another area where Old Dominion is achieving significant success is in getting residence students to sign a pledge, committing to a more sustainable lifestyle.
ODU's Student National Environmental Health Association (SNEHA) hosted an event last Thursday, Feb. 19 in Café 1201 in Webb Center. Using music, games and dry erase boards, SNEHA club members encouraged fellow students to do their part for energy conservation and sustainability.
"We're all passionate about educating others and spreading awareness about timely topics such as energy and resource conservation, and we knew the Challenge would be a great thing to have on our campus, said Rashelly Benitez, an environmental health student and ODU SNEHA president.
"Recycling is just one of those changes they can make - a television can operate for three hours on the energy saved from one aluminum can! When we put things in perspective like that, it becomes easy for students to relate and understand how important their role in conservation efforts really is."
Starting the day with 234 commitments, the SNEHA volunteers more than doubled the number of ODU students signed up. Currently 529 students have made the pledge to reduce energy conservation, far exceeding organizers' goal of 400 students, representing 10 percent of ODU's residence hall population.
SNEHA member Barbara Gavin added the ODU Energy Challenge is a positive way to take action to save energy and protect the environment. "It lets students understand how much impact our daily lives have, and it's really special for me to be able to make a difference on our campus."
During the Feb. 8-28 event, residence halls on each of the three participating campuses are competing against one another to reduce the highest percentage of electricity in comparison to a baseline measurement for that building. Energy consumption will be tracked and displayed using the competition dashboard.
Total reduction amounts for each of the three schools will be compared against each other as part of the CCN competition. Each campus will also award prizes to students in the residence hall that reduces the most electricity on its campus.
Throughout the competition, students are encouraged to conserve energy by unplugging electronics or turning off power strips. The competition will also educate students on using natural light whenever possible and making sure to turn electric lights off when leaving a room.
Participants can also use #LightsOutODU on social media to talk about their own energy reduction commitments.