Battle of the Plug bulletin board. Photo by Monica Papworth.
The second annual Battle of the Plug competition between Western Carolina University and Appalachian State University has come to an end. The competition ran from February 18 through March 11 and the final percentages for overall energy usage are in.
WCU lost the energy conservation competition to ASU who had a 3.1% overall reduction, compared to WCU with a 0.2% overall reduction. WCU did however save almost $2,000 in energy costs during the competition.
“Although we lost this year, I have high hopes for next year,” said Lauren Bishop from Facilities Management.
Residential Living created a competition between all of the residence halls in order to see which hall could reduce their energy usage the most. Walker Hall won the competition by reducing their energy consumption by 7.5%, second place went to Robertson Hall with a 7.2% reduction, and third place Buchanan Hall with a 6.7% reduction.
“As far as prizes are concerned, I am not sure what Residential Living planned for the winner. A couple of ideas have been passed around,” said Bishop.
The building dashboard website has the full breakdown of the final percentages for this year’s competition. The website also features tips for energy conservation and students can commit to do certain things, such as use a desk light instead of overhead lighting, or use natural light during the day.
“I love Battle of the Plug! I think it was a smart and creative way to get colleges and universities to look at their energy usage,” said Carrie Worley, the Resident Director of Balsam Hall.
Every residence hall was required to have a building wide program dedicated to Battle of the Plug. The building wide program for Balsam Hall was a game of flashlight tag. For this game of flashing tag the resident assistants hid and residents had to go find them. Some of the lights in the hallways were turned off to conserve energy, and residents were encouraged to turn off the lights in their rooms, and unplug cell phone and computer chargers while playing the game, and during the day as well. The residents who found the most RA’s were awarded Battle of the Plug t-shirts.
