EcoMadness
EcoMadness is a month long energy and water conservation competition. Each participating building has its own meter which measures the amount of water (in gallons) and the amount of energy (in kilowatt-hours) per day. These numbers are divided by the number of students in the building so we can find the energy and water usage per capita in each dorm. The dorm standings will be updated at least once a week during the competition so that everyone can keep track of the progress they are making. At the end of the month long period, winners will be announced based on who had the largest reduction of energy and water usage and who used the lowest amounts of energy and water overall.
EcoMadness 2011 ran from October 17th through November 13th. Dorms from Buckley, Shippee, Towers, Northwest, East, and West residence halls competed this year. Amongst all these halls, a water use reduction of 2.3% and an energy use reduction of 1.0% were achieved. Over the course of a semester, these voluntary reductions could result in 45,000 gallons of water conserved and prevent 5 metric tons of carbon emissions (the equivalent of taking a passenger car off the road for three months).
Table of Contents
2011 EcoMadness Winners
Water Use, Percent Reduction: Chandler / Lancaster (West)
Water Use, Lowest Per Capita: Hicks / Grange (East)
Energy Use, Percent Reduction: Buckley
Energy Use, Lowest Per Capita: Hollister (West)
Final Leaders
These data are current as of November 28, 2011.
Percent Reduction
| Water Use | % Reduction | Energy Use | % Reduction | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Chandler / Lancaster (West) | 20.2% | Buckley | 6.5% |
| 2nd Place | Buckley | 13.7% | Hollister (West) | 4.3% |
| 3rd Place | Hicks / Grange (East) | 6.6% | Chandler / Lancaster (West) | 3.0% |
Per Capita Use
| Water Use | gal / person | Energy Use | kWh / person | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Hicks / Grange (East) | 29.1 | Hollister (West) | 3.45 |
| 2nd Place | Terry (Northwest) | 33.0 | Holcomb (East) | 3.58 |
| 3rd Place | Buckley | 34.1 | Buckley | 3.69 |
Click here to expand/collapse the full results.
| Campus | Dormitory | Water Use Reduction | Energy Use Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckley | Buckley | 13.7% | 6.5% |
| Shippee | Shippee | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| West | Alsop | 5.5% | 0.0% |
| West | Hollister | 1.6% | 4.3% |
| West | Troy / Shakespeare | 2.6% | 0.0% |
| West | Chandler / Lancaster | 20.2% | 3.0% |
| Northwest | Batterson | 2.3% | 1.0% |
| Northwest | Goodyear | 1.6% | 1.3% |
| Northwest | Hanks | 4.3% | 2.8% |
| Northwest | Rogers | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| Northwest | Russell | 0.0% | 2.7% |
| Northwest | Terry | 5.6% | 0.0% |
| Towers | Sherman / Webster | 1.4% | 1.0% |
| Towers | Jefferson / Colt | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Towers | Trumbull / Sousa / Lafayette / Morgan | 5.1% | 0.0% |
| Towers | Hamilton / Wade / Fenwick / Keller | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Towers | Beecher / Vinton | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Towers | Allen / Kingston | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| East | Hicks / Grange | 6.2% | 0.0% |
| East | Holcomb | 1.0% | 0.6% |
| East | Sprague | 6.6% | 2.6% |
| East | Whitney | 0.0% | 0.3% |
Getting Involved
EcoCaptains are responsible for promoting the EcoMadness Competition. They will motivate their fellow residents to conserve water and energy as well as be responsible for advertising the contest.
The EcoMadness Pledge
Please take the EcoMadness Pledge! By taking this pledge you are dedicating yourself to actively participate in EcoMadness by doing your best to reduce your energy and water consumption. You can print out the pledge (found under "Advertising Resources"), cut off the excess paper (make sure to recycle it!) and tape the pledge to your door so that your fellow residents may know that you are committed and be inspired to join in the effort to conserve. Pick one or two things from the list of tips for conserving energy and water and write them on the lines provided. It will be your goal to, at the very least, stick to the tips you have chosen. For example you may choose to pledge to turn off your lights every time you leave the room, or to do your best to take shorter showers. So post your pledge today and good luck competing in EcoMadness!
Advertising Resources
- EcoMadness toolkit condensed for RAs.doc
- Live Green UConn Flier
- Bulletin board slides
- Dorm poster 1
- Dorm poster 2
- Door flier 1
- Door flier 2
- EcoMadness Pledge
Conservation Tips
Water:
- Only wash your clothes if you have a full load to do. Pool laundry with your friends to make full loads!
- Report all leaks to your CA or ResLife immediately!
- Turn off the water when brushing your teeth, washing your face, shaving, etc.
- Take shorter showers! This will save between 5 and 10 gallons of water per minute.
- Don't flush any type of garbage down the toilet. Every flush uses around 7 gallons of water!
- When washing dishes, use a full sink of warm water instead of running the faucet continuously.
Energy:
- Turn off the lights when nobody is in the room! This goes especially for bathrooms and common rooms when they aren't occupied!
- Avoid the "phantom load". Appliances such as your TV, DVD player, cell phone charger, etc. consume energy just by being plugged in. Unplug them when not in use!
- Turn down your thermostat before going to bed. For every degree you reduce it, you will save 5% on heating.
- Wash your clothes in cold water. It works just as well as warm water, will keep colors from bleeding, and saves the energy that would have gone to heating the water!
- Install compact fluorescent lightbulbs in your lamps. They use 1/4 the electricity of a normal bulb.
- Power down your computer when not in use. For desk tops, turn off the monitor when you aren't using it.