ucsc cold water wash 2014 chesc

Kristiahn Alvarado& Sarah Gilchrist

PowerSave Campus InternEnergy Analyst

UCSC

UCSC Cold Water Wash2014 CHESC

Cold Water Wash Campaign Background

• New program goal implemented: 600 therms savings per year• KPI encourages search for natural gas-reduction projects to address:

– Climate change & local GHG implications– Upcoming regulation on emissions– Financial & non-financial incentives to reduce consumption

Cold Water Wash Campaign Background

• Residents of College Eight were asked to switch their laundry wash to cold water

• 4 Quads (A, B, C, D) competed against each other• A winner was selected by comparison of week to

week data showing who reduced their natural gas usage the most.

Cold Water Wash Campaign Goals

• Get students of College Eight to save natural gas

• Collaborate with Residential Life of College Eight

• Promote Green Education on natural gas usage and water conservation

Cold Water Wash Metrics

• Direct interaction with 750 students• Pre-Surveys from 200 students

• Only 20% of students asked had already washed their clothes on the cold cycle

Cold Water Wash Metrics1,577 therms saved!

• Multiple Savings Metrics:‐ NG therm reduction from each individual cold vs. hot water wash‐ reduced demand over time‐ behavior change

• Multiple Methods:‐ calculation using known, observed and estimated parameters‐ utility meter data, normalized for the other loads on the meter

Project Outreach

Lessons Learned• Collaboration with students is much

easier than previously thought• Incentives, incentives, incentives!

– Gift Cards• Inspire other UCSC colleges to bring

this campaign to their students• Lack of response to post survey

– Post project meetings

Challenges • Tracking Therms

– The lead energy analyst at UCSC helped us track the therms

– Important to isolate a measureable quantity– Verify with multiple methods of calculation

• look out for confounding variables!– Creative calculation

• Numeric documentation can help replicate a project later

Challenges • Project Participation

• Constant Outreach • Weekly visual reminders!

Successes

• Great results in such a short amount of time!• Pilot project• Campus interest

– Sustainability Office at UCSC– PTAGS (Path to a Greener Stevenson)– Other PSC campuses

Acknowledgements

• Sarah Gilchrist– Energy Analyst at UC Santa Cruz

• Connor Keese– College Eight Residential Coordinator

• All resident assistants from College Eight

Sarah Gilchrist& Kristiahn AlvaradoPowerSave Campus Intern

Energy AnalystUCSC

sgilchri@ucsc.eduKristiahn@gmail.com

Contact Information