Galena Residence Hall took first place in another Mizzou Dashboard competition, which measures energy and electricity consumption among residence halls.
Former Sustain Mizzou President Ben Datema obtained a $25,000 grant from the MU Interdisciplinary Innovations fund in 2009 to install the first Dashboard System devices at MU, according to a 2010 Mizzou Weekly article.
“Before Dashboard came along, much of the ‘green’ focus on campus was in making buildings more efficient,” Datema said in the article. “Those are important improvements, but this program allows building occupants to track their behavior. It’s a way for students to see their direct impact on the environment.”
For the competition, the Mizzou Dashboard system has been keeping track of resident’s energy usage in Jones, Lathrop, Laws, Hawthorn, Dogwood, Galena, College Avenue, Hatch and Schurz residence halls since Feb. 27.
“We do the competition by having the system record energy usage for three weeks before the competition,” said James Jordan, sustainability coordinator for the Residence Halls Association. “After the (first) three weeks are over, we give the nine residence halls that have Dashboard three (more) weeks to see by what percentage they can lower their consumption in comparison to the three weeks prior to the competition.”
Galena took the lead and won the competition, ultimately reducing energy consumption by 6 percent with a total savings of 773 kilowatts. Galena residents also contributed to a savings of 4.4 kilowatts per person.
“Laws Residence Hall won in the last Dashboard Competition,” RHA President Chris Rucker said. “So it looks like the rest of the residence halls are taking the competition more serious and are actually reducing their energy consumption.”
Jordan said Laws residents reduced their energy consumption by 26.8 percent in just one week during the competition.
Freshman Galena resident Lesa Langlotz said she had never heard of the Dashboard Competition, but she does turn off her bedroom light every time she leaves.
“I think it is important for students to realize how much energy they are using and wasting because wasting energy wastes money,” she said. “I don’t think many students here are aware of just how harmful our energy usage can be. It would be great to get the word out about using less energy and all the benefits.”
Fortunately, students can reduce their energy use with many simple steps, though they are often overlooked.
“If you leave your room for more than ten seconds, turn out the light,” Jordan said. “If you’re not charging a device, unplug its charger. Open your blinds if it’s sunny outside and turn out your lights. If you’re reading at your desk, use your desk lamp instead of the overhead light.”
Jordan also said lessening energy usage is tremendously beneficial to people and to the environment.
“I think it’s important to make people conscience of their energy consumption and teach them how to lessen it,” he said. “When our residents go to live in houses and apartments off campus next semester, when they graduate and own a house, when they work for an employer who is trying to lower the energy consumption of their organization, we want these people to have learned the information necessary to effectively use less energy and lead a more sustainable life.”
