The Residence Hall Student Association set a 9% electricity reduction goal for New Paltz Unplugged, the annual three-week electricity conservation competition between residence halls. The residence halls also compete against each other to reduce electricity use. The competition begins Monday, September 22, and lasts through Sunday, October 12.
This is the second time that the Office of Campus Sustainability is holding an energy reduction competition. The first competition was held in the Spring of 2014, with Gage Hall winning first place with a 8.9% reduction in electricity use. The competition was moved to the fall semester so that energy conservation behaviors can lasts throughout the entire academic year.
Electricity use in residence halls comprise approximately one quarter of the total electricity used on campus. In the 12 months before the start of this fall’s competition, all of the residence halls used approximately 4.7 million kwh of electricity, generating over 1,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions (MT CO2) at a cost of over $500,000. Electricity use in residence halls comprise approximately one quarter of the total electricity used on campus each year.
Explore the pages of the Office of Campus Sustainability website under the “Get Involved” tab to learn more about energy conservation strategies for on campus students and to see the latest standings in the competition.
