To efficiency and beyond!

If you live on the Hill, you certainly pass by the copious amounts of flyers posted by the elevators in the dorms. During winter quarter, you may have noticed the creatively titled “Do It in the Dark” poster. This poster was a calling for environmentally conscious students to challenge themselves and to see how they could reduce their energy consumption for one month. Over 1,500 students, including myself, pledged to the energy saving competition and we ALONE reduced the energy consumption on the Hill by 52,980 KWH. The efforts by these individuals reduced the entire Hill’s energy consumption by TEN PERCENT. I live in Hedrick Hall, and my dorm’s energy reduction amounted to 24%. Not too shabby, if you ask me.

To begin my energy conservation venture, I had to pledge to abide by certain actions from the Office of Residential Life. If all of these initiative (some of which I will list below for you to consider) were enforced upon the rest of the student body or at least suggested to them, the Hill’s energy consumption would decrease dramatically. Since 2005, UCLA has measured the average energy consumption per resident in each dorm on the Hill. Although the overall energy consumption in all of the buildings has decreased (for example, the average student in Hedrick Hall in 2005 used 200 KWH per month while in 2007 the average student used 150 KWH per month), there seems to be no correlations between building types, age of the buildings and average monthly energy consumption per student. While Sunset Village’s energy consumption per resident is dramatically higher than any other buildings, I believe this can merely be attributed to the fact that Sunset Village represents a grouping of many buildings and communities.

As we have learned in class, communities that have low densities find themselves drowned in issues of sprawl, including higher rates of pollution and energy usage. The same ideas has been applied to UCLA – as UCLA’s student body has grown within the past decade, more and more buildings have been built to accommodate for the higher number of students. Within the next three years, four new buildings are supposed to emerge. If imaginable, these new buildings will allow for an even higher density of students to live on the Hill. Although building new dorms and renovating older buildings like Hedrick Hall and Dykstra seem like unsustainable doings, the new buildings will incorporate greener appliances and efforts and will, in the long term, make UCLA a greener campus. Also on a grander scale, with more buildings on campus and a 4-year housing guarantee, UCLA will be more sustainable because it will be able to house those individuals who would otherwise commute from apartments or other areas surrounding Westwood.

Although I am mainly focusing on how living a green lifestyle while in college is indeed possible, I must acknowledge the initiatives UCLA has undergone in the past few years to be more sustainable on campus. By converting the current 30 to 50 year old HVAC air systems to more modern fan systems, UCLA will save $4.2 million in expenses each year and decrease its annual carbon footprint by 17,000 tons of carbon. Since 2007, UCLA Facilities Management has been studying how occupancy sensors, day lighting controls and bi-level stairwell lights (where lights in stair wells will only turn on 2 floors at a time) will decrease UCLA’s energy consumption. Since its installation in 2003, the Thermal Energy Storage Tank, which serves as the foundation for LaKretz Hall, has allowed UCLA to store chilled water at night. This chilled water is distributed all over campus (except not buildings on the hill) to use during the day when energy prices are higher. This has helped UCLA save over $600,000 annually. Also, UCLA has made tremendous efforts to replace all older fluorescent bulbs with energy efficient bulbs – over 112,000 efficient bulbs and 3,600 low energy exit signs have been installed campus.

Overall, UCLA is a pretty green place and is becoming even more sustainable. By doing your part, you can help lower UCLA’s annual carbon footprint:

Take the stairs! Although we get a lot of walking in (Hedrick Hall to Humanities is one mile!), the elevators in the dorms make up a large portion of UCLA’s energy consumption.

Turn off your lights. Why leave the lights in your room on when you go to dinner or take a shower? Try turning off your lights at any chance you get. As ORL suggests, “do it in the dark!”

Use air conditioning VERY sparingly. Living in Hedrick Hall, I have realized that air conditioning is a luxury. Opening your windows not only provides you with the nice, fresh air but also allows you to reduce your carbon footprint! That’s what I can a win-win situation.

Take showers in the afternoon. By doing so, you will maximize the use of the solar heated water (check out my water section). This reduces the amount of energy needed to heat the water.