CommonCents pays students to conserve

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Ian Yencha

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS - CommonCents Residence Hall Electricity Challenge is holding a power-saving competition between the UMaine residence halls from Sept. 15 to Nov. 15.

University of Maine residents have been challenged to save energy and they will reap the rewards as part of the CommonCents Residence Hall Electricity Challenge.

The three winning residence halls who reduce their electricity use the most will be rewarded in cash prizes.

The CommonCents Residence Hall challenge encourages UMaine students who live in residence halls to reduce the electricity they use said Laura Lommler of the challenge. She said the incentives will encourage students to conserve energy, but is a good way to learn energy conservation habits before they move into their own apartments, with their own electricity bill.

The challenge began on Sept. 15 and will run through Nov. 15. Lommler said the halls will chart their electricity used per person, and the hall that saves the most compared to last year will be deemed the winner. She said the winning hall’s Hall Governing Board will be awarded 75 percent of their energy savings. She said the second place HGB will receive 50 percent of their savings and the third place hall will receive 25 percent of their savings. She said the first-place dorm will also receive T-shirts for all the residents. The winning dorm will also have the opportunity to place the names of residents into a drawing. Last year winners received prizes varying from a fleece UMaine jacket, to gift certificates for area buisnesses. She said this year’s drawing prizes have not been finalized but do include 10 cases of Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese.

Lommler said the challenge is trying to educate students about electricity usage. She said fliers, emails, stickers and advertisements are distributed as part of the challenge. She used the example of ghost loads that are appliances that use electricity even when they are said to be off. She said televisions, VCRs, answering machines, cordless phones or electric clocks in stereos still consume energy when they are said to be off.

“Leaving your TV plugged in is like leaving a light on 24 hours a day,” Lommler said.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2003, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.