Energy Exchange

Crab, You’re It!: Using Community-Based Social Marketing to Save Energy

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 13, 2011

By: Adam Hart, 2011 Climate Corps Public Sector Fellow at Mecklenburg County, NC; MBA candidate at Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Meet the stars of the “Crab, You’re It!” project, a group of fiddler crabs helping North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County employees reduce energy consumption in a lasting way. The creative folks behind this idea are Mecklenburg County’s Land Use and Environmental Services Agency. They are using community-based social marketing in the form of the crab project to help employees become better environmental citizens.

Photo Courtesy of Adam Hart

Community-based social marketing is a behavior modification strategy developed by Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr, a Professor of Psychology at St. Thomas University. The basic idea is that once you identify the barriers and benefits to a sustainable behavior, you can use behavior change tools to create a new social norm.

Mecklenburg County launched a pilot project, “Crab, You’re It!,” to encourage 350 county employees to turn off lights after leaving workspaces during business hours. The behavior change was driven by attaching a stigma to leaving the lights on. Employees were encouraged to spot colleagues who forgot to switch their lights off, and give them a big plastic fiddler crab. They could only pass on the fiddler crab when they found another employee wasting energy. Read More »

Energy Efficiency: It’s A Long-Term Commitment

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 11, 2011

By: Matthew Peck, 2011 Climate Corps Public Sector Fellow at Winston-Salem State University, NC; MBA candidate at the Babcock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University; United States Navy Veteran

Just two weeks into my summer fellowship at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), I learned one important lesson: energy efficiency is a long-term commitment. Before coming to WSSU’s campus, I expected to see buildings far below modern energy efficiency standards. I thought I would identify many “low hanging fruits” and quickly turn WSSU into a greener campus. After arriving at WSSU, I realized my job wouldn’t be that easy.

WSSU has a small and active sustainability team within the Facilities department. In the past few years, it has been pushing hard to increase energy efficiency and reduce environmental impacts of campus buildings. All of the buildings have either had lighting upgrades, or are scheduled to receive them. Other improvements that are under way include upgrades to HVAC systems and installation of water flow regulators in sinks and dormitory showers.

Due to the major strides in energy efficiency made at WSSU, I am pursuing options I had not previously considered to find even more savings and reduce greenhouse gas pollution. WSSU’s planned upgrades are only the tip of the energy efficiency iceberg. My ideas go further to involve employees and educate students:

Educating dormitory residents on the proper use of a thermostat and encouraging appropriate temperature settings. This may sound simple, but the reality is that many young people who live in the dormitories are living away from home for the first time and have never had to set a thermostat.
Reminders to power down office equipment, turn off lights, and moderate environmental controls in unoccupied rooms.
Create competitions among the campus dormitories to see which can conserve the most energy and water, and reduce the most waste. Read More »

An Energy Auditor’s Toolbox

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 8, 2011

By: Carrie Gonnella, 2011 Climate Corps Public Sector Fellow at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC; MEM/MBA candidate at the Nicholas School of the Environment/Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

Two weeks into my EDF Climate Corps Public Sector (CCPS) fellowship, I attended an energy assessment training put on by the State of North Carolina and hosted by the Center for the Environment at Catawba College. This was a great opportunity to expand on what I learned at CCPS training. This three day training included a dozen energy topics, hands-on demos, and a practice energy assessment of a Catawba dormitory.

Dr. Joe Davis, who led the training, works in North Carolina’s Energy Office and has many years of experience in energy assessment. I completed training with 40 representatives from colleges and municipalities. We were eager to develop our understanding of the tools and steps needed in a comprehensive energy assessment. We covered lighting, HVAC, motors, compressed air, boilers, and chillers. Dr. Davis showed us tools that were applicable to each situation. By the end of the training I was able to develop a list of tools that would assist me in my own energy assessment of Catawba’s buildings. Catawba’s Center for the Environment purchased these tools, which will be useful to my work this summer, and can be used as teaching tools in the future. Read More »

Posted in EDF Climate Corps / Tagged Catawba College - 2011 | Read 1 Response

My 1000 Piece Summer Jigsaw Puzzle

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 6, 2011

By: Maura Farver, 2011 Climate Corps Public Sector Fellow at First Presbyterian Church in Asheville, NC; MEM candidate at the Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University; MBA Candidate at UNC Kenan-Flagler

My summer fellowship with Climate Corps Public Sector brought me to First Presbyterian Church. In my search for energy efficiency, I have come to call the church my 1000 piece summer jigsaw puzzle. Every piece is a little different and must be closely examined. Fortunately, I love puzzles and am always up for a challenge.

The church’s main sanctuary was built in 1884, and over the years, there have been various building additions and technology upgrades. Developing an accurate tally of the lighting, HVAC, electronics, and building materials at the church was trickier than I anticipated.

The church is unique, and in understanding how energy is consumed here, I need to know:

What lighting and electronic equipment are in use in each room?
How is temperature regulated throughout the building?
What parts of the building are in use and how often? Read More »

Posted in EDF Climate Corps / Read 1 Response

The Great Energy Efficiency Treasure Hunt: Finding Savings In Everyday Places

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 5, 2011

By: Jen Weiss, 2011 Climate Corps Public Sector Fellow at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina; MEM candidate at the Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University

When I was a kid, I used to love Easter morning. Actually, I still do. Surprisingly, it has little to do with the chocolate bunnies, the jellybeans, and the colorful peeps. What I love is the thrill of the hunt – where are all the treasures hiding and can I find them all?

This is the feeling I get every day here at Shaw University. There are so many energy efficiency treasures hiding in these historic walls just waiting to be found.

Treasure, Treasure Everywhere!

At this point, it would be really easy for me to say something cliché like, “sometimes the no-cost or low-cost solutions are the easiest to implement.” But these energy efficiency mantras don’t get my message across, which is that I’m enjoying the thrill of the hunt and finding energy efficiency treasures:

Let there be light. About 80% of Shaw’s indoor lighting has already been upgraded to more efficient fluorescent bulbs (T-8s for us environmental geeks) or CFLs (those squiggly lights for you non-environmental geeks). Together with my treasure seeking EDF partner, Eliza Davis, we found some buildings that had not upgraded their lighting. Also, when touring the residence halls, we found that each of the student desks – over 800 of them – had lights that could be upgraded to more efficient and cost effective lighting solutions. Voila! Treasure #1.
Read More »

Posted in EDF Climate Corps / Tagged Shaw University - 2011 | Read 1 Response

A Green Roof And Greenhouse: Signs Of An Ambitious Green Campus

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 1, 2011

By: Carrie Gonnella, 2011 Climate Corps Public Sector Fellow at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC; MEM/MBA candidate at the Nicholas School of the Environment/Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

This summer I am lucky to have a fellowship at Catawba College‘s Center for the Environment. I was fortunate to start just in time to learn about two initiatives the Center is pursuing: a green roof for the science building and a new high efficiency greenhouse.

I learned all about green roofs from Chuck Friedrich of Stalite Co. Stalite makes a green roof growing medium that is durable, lightweight, and easy to apply. There are many important steps involved in creating a luscious, healthy, and sustainable living roof, and Chuck gave us many things to consider, including:

There are two green roof options: extensive or intensive. An extensive roof has 2-4 inches of growing material, supporting sedum and other low-lying foliage. Intensive is 6 inches or more, and can support a greater range of plants, including trees.
Why remain flat? Subtle rolling hills can be created on green roofs based on the location of roof ballasts. They can support a thicker growing medium.
A green roof can extend the life of your roof by threefold!

Posted in EDF Climate Corps / Tagged Catawba College - 2011 | Read 4 Responses