Stouffer College House, Jaffe Building "Power Down" to Reach the Top in Energy Savings–Penn's 2012 Power Down Challenge Results |
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December 11, 2012,
Volume 59, No. 15 |
In a competition where conserving energy means saving to win, Stouffer College House and the Jaffe Building emerged as 2012 Champions of the University of Pennsylvania’s three-week Power Down Challenge (PDC). This competition, which ran from October 31 through November 18, motivated all of Penn’s College Houses and many of its campus buildings to find effective and creative ways to save electricity. In addition to raising awareness over a three-week period, the Power Down Challenge aims to get participants to adopt energy-conserving practices that will last year-round.
Stouffer College House (a combination of Stouffer Hall and Mayer Hall) is known for a strong community spirit, which kept this 250-resident group a strong contender throughout the competition. With an energy savings of 14.5%, Stouffer finished out well ahead of Gregory College House in second place (10%) and the Quad in third place (5%). The Quad was the 2011 PDC College House Champion (Almanac December 20, 2011).
Jaffe, one of the buildings housing School of Arts & Science programs, came in as campus building champion, dropping energy usage 21.6% over the competition period. Hillel (Steinhardt Hall) took second place saving 12.6% over its baseline energy usage, and Huntsman Hall placed third, with a 7.4% energy savings. The Franklin Building, 2011 PDC campus building champion, expanded their energy-savings programs from last year and reduced energy usage an additional 2.8% during this year’s competition period, showing their conservation efforts and behaviors have been sustained even after last year’s competition.
While the primary goal of the Power Down Challenge is for each building to reduce energy usage over its own baseline, two buildings deserve recognition for the total amount of energy saved regardless of their place in the results. As shown on the tables below, the Quad came in with the most kilowatts saved among College Houses, as did Huntsman Hall among campus buildings.
Listed below are the top six results for each segment of the Power Down Challenge. Further information is available on the Power Down Challenge dashboard website, http://buildingdashboard.net/penn/#/penn/// All percentages are calculated over a baseline reading taken in early October. Regular manual readings taken at all buildings were used to track energy usage.
College House |
% change |
kWh change |
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1. Stouffer |
-14.5% |
-3,373 |
#1 in % |
2. Gregory |
-10.0% |
-4,503 |
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3. Quad |
-5.3% |
-6,764 |
#1 in absolute decrease |
4. Sansom West |
-4.0% |
-3,439 |
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5. Hill |
-3.1% |
-1,292 |
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6. Du Bois |
-2.8% |
-608 |
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Campus Building |
% change |
kWh change |
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1. Jaffe |
21.6% |
-992 |
#1 in % decrease |
2. Steinhardt Hall |
12.6% |
-3,415 |
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3. Huntsman Hall |
-7.4% |
-35,558 |
#1 in absolute decrease |
4. 4040 Chestnut/DPS |
-4.4% |
-1,361 |
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5. Franklin Building |
-2.8% |
-2,846 |
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6. Steinberg Conference Center |
-2.5% |
-3,333 |
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The energy saved over the 19 days of the 2012 Power Down Challenge at the University of Pennsylvania is equivalent to the conservation of:
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lbs of CO² |
Cars off the Road* |
Gallons of Gasoline |
Barrels of Oil |
Homes Powered* |
Trees Planted^ |
College Houses |
36,915 |
62 |
1,877 |
39 |
40 |
429 |
Campus Buildings |
60,663 |
104 |
3,085 |
64 |
122 |
706 |
All equivalencies based on US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies References
*Based on average home electricity used in mixed-humid Mid-Atlantic Region, US EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS)
^Grown for 10 years
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