6th POWERless Energy Competition now under way

With the goal of reducing energy use in residence halls, the competition features prize drawings for students in the most improved buildings.

Elon University sophomore sustainability interns Emily Forinash (far left) and Hannah Matthews (second from left) talk with students at College Coffee during the official launch of Elon’s 6th POWERless Energy Competition.

Elon University’s 6th POWERless Energy Competition kicks off this week for residence halls across campus to reduce their electricity use over the next two weeks The competition officially launched at the Sept. 27 College Coffee, where organizers shared energy-saving tips, free CFLs and other giveaways.

POWERless encourages students to improve energy habits and raise awareness of energy conservation while making a positive impact on the planet.

“We want students to share the energy conservation habits they learn at Elon with their family and friends and continue those habits after they graduate,” said Elaine Durr, Elon’s director of sustainability.

More than 40 residence halls making up seven residential areas will take part in the contest, and reductions will be determined by comparing usage during the competition to baseline consumption.

The name of the top residential area in each division will be added to the custom-made oak POWERless trophy.

After the first week of the competition, all students will be able to view and track their hall’s progress as well as their residential area’s standing in the contest using the Competition tab on the Building Dashboard. Students are encouraged to “Commit to Reduce” on the Building Dashboard. As in previous POWERless competitions, there will be Divisions based on occupancy with larger occupancy buildings in Division I and smaller occupancy buildings in Division II.

The top reducing building in each division will receive $250 to use for a building program or improvement. The residents in the top reducing buildings in each division will be entered into a drawing for prizes – two bikes and two $50 Phoenix Cash prizes. The name of the top residential area in each division will be added to the custom-made oak POWERless trophy, which resides in the Moseley Center.

For more information and competition updates visit the Elon Sustainability Facebook page. Weekly competition updates will also be posted to E-net.