20 October 2015

Competition sparks a winning change

Fierce competition between two of Victoria University of Wellington’s Hall of Residences has not only reduced energy consumption, it’s also sparked understanding of sustainable energy practices.

Since the end of July, the 600 residents in Weir House and Te Puni Village have been competing to see who can save the most power compared to the previous year’s usage. Points were awarded for participation in competitions run via social media.

Last night, Weir House celebrated its win with a dessert night, where the residents were presented with a trophy and four bicycles—two of which were donated by Meridian Energy.

The other two will be purchased with the money saved by the students as part of the competition.

Te Puni Village will also receive two bicycles.

Bethany Paterson, a second year science and law student who initiated the competition, has been pleased at the level of enthusiasm and participation from students.

“What one person can do to reduce energy consumption may make a small difference but when you have 600 people all doing the same thing, it can bring about massive change.

“It’s about creating a culture where people do these types of things instinctively.”

Andrew Wilks, Victoria’s Environmental Manager, says it’s always exciting when students come forward with innovative ideas like the power saving competition.

“I hope that the enthusiasm that these students have displayed will result in longer term energy awareness.”

VUWSA Wellbeing and Sustainability Officer Rory Lenihan-Ikin says VUWSA was pleased to have partnered with Victoria to deliver such a worthwhile project.

“The competition has been a resounding success and we are excited about expanding it to more of Victoria’s Halls of Residence in 2016.”

Lizzy Baker from competition sponsor Meridian Energy says it's fantastic to see the savings students made. “When it comes to saving energy, we know that making small changes can add up and make a big difference.”

Weir House Energy Ambassador Gianina Schwanecke, says the competition highlighted the ways in which students use energy and how they can reduce consumption.

“It’s easy to be indifferent about your energy consumption, but it’s an important issue and we actually found it very easy to save energy.

“It was good practice for those of us who will be flatting next year.”

Gianina says that the energy saving initiatives used at Weir House encouraged residents to reach out to their neighbours.

“We had joint movie nights and shared use of the microwaves. We even had a few floor ‘black outs’ with everyone making the effort to conserve.”

Below is a list of some of the ways students at both Halls of Residence saved energy:

· Hanging out washing rather than using a dryer

· Turning off unused lights in communal spaces

· Post-it notes on lifts to remind people to use the stairs if possible

· Using eco-bulbs in desk lamps while studying

· Stickers on all light switches, reminding people to turn them off.

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