From the 2010 Alliance to Save Energy Green Campus Energy Efficiency Summit – Greening the Campus, Building the Workforce

1. Energy and Water:
Residence Hall Competition
Ravi Sahai, Cal Poly SLO Green Campus Intern
Dennis Elliot, Cal Poly SLO Sustainability Manager

2. Green Campus SLO
• In 2007 the Cal Poly Facilities
office and a group of five
students established the twelfth
Green Campus team.
• Previous projects include 2007
and 2008 Residence Hall
Energy Competitions,
Greenwashing dishwasher
project, and Vending Miser
installation.
• 2009 Energy Efficiency
Partnership Program’s Best
Practices Award for Student
Energy Efficiency.

3. Poly Canyon Village
• Apartment style housing for 2nd,
3rd and 4th year students
• 9 apartment buildings
• 2500 students
• Each building has 4-8
Community Advisors (CA’s)
• LEED Gold Certified

4. Advertising
• Community Advisor
(CA’s) meeting prior to
competition
• Sandwich Board
• Tabling
• Weekly Emails
Education and Outreach
• Posters
• Laundry room fliers
• Village Bee
• Website and Video

5. Fliers
Fliers and magnets handed out during tabling

6. Dance in the Dark
• Mid competition
activity
• Reward students for
their participation
• Create opportunity to
talk about competition
“Dance in the Dark”
• Choose better date
and timing

7. Data Collection
• Competition based on
electricity, water, and
heat usage
• Usage converted into
cost per student
• Meter readings three
Data Collection
times a week
• Adjustments made to
account for retail
spaces, pool pumps,
and laundry rooms

8. Data Collection
• Commission and calibrate meters and confirm
with readings before competition begins
• Be careful with dissimilar buildings- determine
how to adjust for differences such as occupancy,
retail spaces, laundry rooms, special equipment,
and streetlights
Data Collection
• Monitor usage after competition to see if
behavior is sustained

9. Savings
• Over 5 weeks saved:
14,619 gallons Electric Usage Per Person
117,325 MBTU's 4.00
Aliso
Electricity (kWh)
Corralitos
76,874 kWh 3.50
3.00 Estrella
2.50
• Total cost savings
Foxen
2.00
1.50 Gypsum
$9,778
Savings
1.00
0.50
0.00
Huasna
Buena Vista +
Inyo
• 15.7% reduction in Date
overall usage

10. Post Competition
• Took meter readings three times a week to track behavior
after competition
• Survey (n=21):
Did you alter your behavior during the competition in order
to be more sustainable?
 81% Yes
Post  19% No
Competition Activity
Will you continue your sustainable behavior patterns now
that the competition is over?
 78% Yes
 22% No

11. Accomplishments
• Outreached to 2,500 students
• Created a strong relationship with the
Community Advisors (CA’s), Coordinators of
Student Development (CSD’s), and housing
Accomplishments
• Fostered long term behavior change
• Institutionalized competition in Poly Canyon
apartments

12. Challenges
• Reaching all 2,500 students in apartments,
much different setting than other residence halls
• Getting CA’s involved- most direct
communication to residents
Challenges
• Making adjustments for differences in buildings
• Displaying data and vandalism during
competition

13. Prizes
Lessons learned?
Embroidered Stainless steel water
sweatshirts for CA’s bottles for residents

14. Acknowledgements
• Dennis Elliot, Cal Poly Sustainability Manager
• Our supportive stakeholders in housing, Emily
Sandoval and Juliette Duke
• All of the Community Advisors (CA’s) and
Ackknowledgements Student Development (CSD’s) in
Coordinators of
Poly Canyon
• The Green Campus team members who made it
possible: John Hauge, Sarah Fleming,
Danielle Chandler, Nick Lovgren

15. Thank You!
Contact Information:
Ravi Sahai, Green Campus Intern
rsahai@calpoly.edu
Thank you
Dennis Elliot, Sustainability Manager
delliot@calpoly.edu