SEX: IT is a competition between dorms on the Homewood campus that is run by students in EARTH, the Energy Activity Reduction Team @ Hopkins.  Dorms compete based on their total energy use, which includes electricity, natural gas, chilled water, and steam.  This year's Spring Semester tournament started on February 1, 2009 and will end on April 30.  The dorm that reduces its energy consumption by the greatest percentage from their baseline wins!

How It Works

Dormitory buildings have been divided according to their utility meters.  Wolman, McCoy, Bradford, Homewood, and Charles Commons each have individual meters, and are thus competing individually.  The AMRs I and II share one meter, as do Buildings A and B - so these sets of buildings are grouped together and will compete as single units.

Each week, students measure the energy consumption of each building.  They convert the total energy from various sources (electricity, natural gas, etc) to kWh's for consolidation and comparison.  Water consumption, waste, and recycling are NOT factored into a dorm's score.  Running totals will be maintained here, in the Daily Announcement emails and on Facebook.

For questions or details related to rules or calculations, contact Diana Wohler.

Prizes

Each occupent of the winning dorm will receive a gift certificate for a free ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. The RAs of the winning dorm will receive an additional prize.

Tips for Students

Students are encouraged to excercise as much influence over their peers and buildings as possible, don't just limit yourself to your suite or room!  Common rooms, multipurpose rooms, laundry rooms - all are under your control and impact your dorm's score. 

A few easy actions to keep in mind:

• Turning off your lights, especially in suite halls and bathrooms.
• Shut down or hibernate your computer when it's not needed.
• Unplug all your appliances, things like cell phone chargers and computer cords continue to draw electricity even when they're not used.
• Take a shorter/colder shower every once in a while, you'll find it refreshing.
• If you have control of your thermostat, turn it down a degree or two.
• Only do laundry when you have a full load and use cold water when possible.
• Turn off the TV in common areas when nobody is watching it.

Competition Results

Check back each week for the latest numbers! Will your dorm be the winner???