POWERless contest to debut team competitions

This fall's POWERless campus contest featuring "COMPETE to CONSERVE" marks the 10th competition designed to promote and reward energy conservation in residential facilities. Competition begins Sept. 17.

Elon University’s POWERless Energy Competition for Student Housing returns to campus starting Tuesday, Sept. 17, as a way for students to adopt energy conservation habits while competing with each other to capture the most energy savings through changed residential lifestyles.  

Students conserved enough energy in three weeks during last spring’s contest to power 25 North Carolina homes for a month. With the advent of a new team competition component, “COMPETE to CONSERVE,” organizers said they hope Elon students will save even more energy this fall.

The three-week competition kicks off at College Coffee and ends Oct. 8 shortly before the start of Fall Break. Attend College Coffee on Sept. 17, Sept. 24 and Oct. 1 to earn points and prizes for passing weekly challenges. 

Buildings are divided into Division I or Division II based on occupancy. Those with the overall highest percentage of energy savings win. Residents of the top two winning buildings in each division are placed into a raffle to win an iPad Mini or $50 Phoenix cash.

As part of “COMPETE to CONSERVE,” the new feature to POWERless, students can form teams of up to 10 people and earn points for different activities.

Each week, teams compete to reduce resource use, starting with energy, then water and waste. Those participating in “COMPETE to CONSERVE” are eligible for all POWERless prizes and additional weekly prizes as well. Simply form a team of at least three students, contact your Eco-Rep, act and win! Activity checklists, a prize menu and details for registering are on line.

Teams must register with their Eco-Rep by Sept. 15 to compete.

Don’t miss the first event for which teams can earn points. Chasing Ice,” a film featuring time-lapse photography of the Arctic, will be screened at Elon on Monday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. in McKinnon Hall.