Do It In The Dark is back for another year! Do It In The Dark is a competition that was first created by students at Plymouth State University on campus in 2007 that runs from the beginning of October to the end of November. It is an annual event in which the traditional residence halls compete to see who can save the most energy by making conscious efforts to lower their consumption and improve their energy conservation. The residence hall that saves the most energy wins half price laundry for the month of February!
Students in the residence halls can work together to try and save as much energy as possible, and the idea is that with the incentive to make some changes we can learn practices that can save us money and help us live more sustainably for a lifetime. Doing simple things like turning off unused appliances, TVs, and game consoles can make a big difference. People interested in being more dedicated can take steps like plugging electronics into a power strip that can be turned off when they are not in use, which eliminates “vampire draw”, which is also called standby power.
The vampire draw is the electricity consumed by a device when it is turned off. For example, your television consumes electricity as it waits for you to hit the “on” button on your remote.Similarly your stereo, coffee maker, garage-door opener, microwave oven, clock radio and other electronics are drawing power even when not in use. Yes, even chargers for cell phones and MP3 players siphon energy when plugged in – even if they’re not charging a thing. These kinds of devices have a hidden energy cost that most people are never even aware of. Nationally, phantom loads make up about six percent of our energy consumption. This translates into billions of dollars spent and significant amounts of pollution emitted into our air. (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~recycle/ssec/download/Phantom%20Load.pdf)
The “Do It In the Dark” competition is a cooperative effort by the Office of Environmental Sustainability, The Office of Residential Life, and Physical Plant. These groups work together to publicize the event, create awareness of energy conservation measures students can take in their own lives, and track the amount of energy consumed by the resident halls each week to see who can save the most. The residence hall that saves the most energy wins half price laundry for the month of February! Do your part to help your hall win.