Many aspects of dorm energy use are no different from those of other types of buildings on campus, such as lighting or heating, so the technical and administrative changes that would reduce energy use in on-campus buildings apply here as well. But since the dorms are students' homes, rather than just places to go for work and classes, they are better candidates for encouraging social efforts to keep energy use down.
Above-This map shows how much energy is used each year by different dorms, with Senior House using the highest wattage per capita, and Green Hall using the lowest. Below-breakdown of energy use by dorm.
| Building No. | Building Name | Population | kWh/capita yr | AC | Athena | Dining | Elevators | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E2 | Senior House | 150 | 5,820 | Y | N | per floor | Y | |
| NW30 | The Warehouse | 120 | 5,050 | Y | N | per room | Y | |
| W7 | Baker House | 350 | 4,800 | N | N | cafeteria | Y | |
| W61 | MacGregor House | 350 | 3,750 | N | N | per suite | Y | |
| W71 | Next House | 370 | 3,350 | Y | Y | cafeteria | Y | |
| NW61 | Random Hall | 90 | 3,290 | N | N | per floor | N | |
| W2, W4 | McCormick Hall | 240 | 3,260 | N | Y | per floor | Y | |
| W84 | Tang Hall | 400 | 3,220 | N | N | per room | Y | |
| W70 | New House | 320 | 3,050 | Y | Y | per floor | N | |
| NW10 | Edgerton House | 190 | 2,920 | Y | N | per suite | Y | |
| W51 | Burton Conner House | 410 | 2,900 | N | Y | per suite | Y | |
| 62, 64 | East Campus | 370 | 2,880 | N | N | per floor | N | |
| W1 | Ashdown House | 420 | 2,710 | N | N | per suite | Y | |
| W13 | Bexley Hall | 120 | 2,660 | N | N | per floor | N | |
| W5 | Green Hall | 50 | 840 | N | N | per floor | Y |
Students acting together would be able to make major energy reductions without spending a cent, by merely being more conscious of what they are using-by turning off lights when they're not in use, taking the staircase instead of the elevator, or letting their computers hibernate or sleep during the day time. The problem is that since dorm energy costs are not billed directly to dorm residents, students have no incentive to make such efforts. But energy does cost money, and regardless of whether or not energy reduction benefits the environment, MIT stands to reap financial benefits from reduced energy use.
So how can MIT encourage energy conservation in dorms? In recent years, many colleges and universities across the US have started energy programs with impressive results, using various types of incentives and intrigue, sometimes in conjunction the EPA's Energy Star Dorm Room program.
As part of a campus wide conservation effort, Ohio University students participate in an eight week long “Residence Challenge” where dorms with the greatest reductions in energy and water use win prizes and cash. The top three dorms, one from each of the campus' main greens, each won $1,341 in 2002; the second three and third three dorms won $559 and $335, respectively; this is small compared to the $76,000 they saved in 2001, when many dorms exceeded 25% reduction!
A much smaller scale competition was conducted at the University of Montana: the dorm with the greatest reduction over a five-day period won a pizza party; the winners this year reduced energy use by 8%.
At Tulane, three environmentally concerned sophomores have volunteered to use their triple as a showcase of Energy Star approved products, giving tours during freshman orientation and throughout the year to encourage others to purchase energy efficient products.
In a program called “Battle of the Dorm Dwellers,” sixteen students at Furman University in South Carolina spent a year living in two cottages: one team of eight lived as any normal college student might, while the other team made energy and water conservation their primary goal.
Social solutions to energy problems can only take you so far; unless you plan on writing all your papers on a typewriter by candle-light, there is some point at which you cannot reasonably cut back further on your energy consumption merely by using electricity less. As discussed in the sections on after hour lighting and athena use, different computers and light fixtures vary greatly in how much energy they use. Within dorms, there are other factors that can be change, some quite easily and some with more hassle, which could significantly cut energy use.
One change that MIT has already started to implement is the change to high efficiency washing machines. For someone who does a load of laundry once a week, converting to high efficiency washers can save 90 kilowatt-hours each week; with about 5,000 students in dorms, the institute stands to save $45,000 a year, which would cover the costs of replacing all our washing machines within five years. Currently, MIT claims that it has made a switch across campus to high efficiency washers, but several house managers assert that they don't yet have these. Also, if more laundry rooms on campus allowed people to purchase less than a full hour of drying time, it would be easier to save energy there.
Refrigeration is another issue that is found more in dorms than in other parts of campus. While it is true that many laboratories on campus use refrigerators, the presence of refrigerators in dorms is especially interesting because most of these are personal refrigerators, which require three times as much energy per volume than do those of full size, and four times as much as full size, high efficiency refrigerators. If dorms were able to provide more public refrigerator space, instead of everyone having their own fridge, we could cut back a lot of energy use.
In looking at where MIT can save money while saving energy, there are some areas where it does not always make sense to buy better appliances or renovate; for example, in most circumstances it is far more costly to replace windows with double pane/insulated glass than to continue wasting energy through heat loss. Nevertheless, this can also be profitable and the graduate residence, Tang, has just had it's windows replaced.
Of course, there are more options when building a dorm from scratch. At Northland College in Wisconsin, the most recently built dorm was designed to be self sustainable, with everything from low-tech composting toilets to solar paneled roofing. The dorm uses 50% less energy than others of its size on campus.
by Miriam Sorell, <mirm_s@mit.edu> Department of Urban Studies and Planning