The prize for the winning tower will be a pizza party in Flicks sponsored by Pizza Shuttle and the Student Association as well as a free screening of “Free Willy.”

The 2008 Spring Energy Reduction competition began in Sandburg Residence Halls on April 1 and will continue throughout the duration of the month. It is sponsored by the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG) and the Student Association. North, East, South and West towers will compete against each other to see who can use the least amount of energy.

The goals of the competition are to lower energy in the Sandburg and to educate residents on how they can save energy when they move outside of the dorms.

“Hopefully we’re not only saving energy in Sandburg, but a lot of energy will be saved by residents long after the competition,” said Steve Horvath, a member of WISPIRG’s Campus Climate Challenge and event organizer.

Results will be measured by taking the amount of energy consumed by each tower in April 2008 divided by the average energy used per tower in April of the last five years multiplied by one hundred. Frequent updates of the tower in the lead will be painted on a window in the cafeteria.

The prize for the winning tower will be a pizza party in Flicks sponsored by Pizza Shuttle and the Student Association as well as a free screening of “Free Willy.”

Horvath’s suggestions for residents on how to reduce energy ranged from turning off the lights to making adjustments on fridges. “You can keep your mini fridge in the shade, make sure no more than a quarter inch of ice builds up in the freezer, and clean the fan on the back of it out.” He also recommended using less hot water, unplugging devices when not in use like cell phone chargers, and for East tower residents, turning on the fan when using air conditioning to circulate the air and use less energy.

The idea for the event was inspired by other campuses that have held similar energy reduction competitions between dormitories. Campuses such as the University of Wisconsin have had successful energy competitions.

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