Each year, students living at Totem Park and Place Vanier Residences compete in Do It in the Dark, an exciting three-week energy conservation contest. Residence students compete house-to-house to achieve the greatest energy savings in their residences or gain the most participation points.

Using an energy conservation dashboard,  students track their building’s energy use, make daily conservation pledges and engage in social media and outreach activities.

Students save energy during the Do It In the Dark competition by:

• Turning out lights in dorm rooms and common areas
• Unplugging electronic devices when not in use
• Installing power bars to reduce phantom power
•  Washing clothes in cold water and hanging them to dry
• Taking shorter showers to reduce hot water use
• Turning down the heat
• Taking the stairs, and avoiding power-consuming elevators 

In 2010, the competition was part of the North American Campus Conservation Nationals. Totem Park students completed against 39 American universities and colleges and placed second overall, with an average 17.4 per cent reduction in electricity consumption.

The competition went province-wide in 2011, and Totem Park and Place Vanier competed against 19 other BC university residences. Totem Park placed first in the Energy Reduction category. Haida House led the way, with an overall energy reduction of 27.6 per cent. Place Vanier placed third in the Participation category, with Sherwood-Lett House winning the grand prize for house involvement and participation.

2012 Competition

Do It in the Dark 2012 takes place at Totem Park and Place Vanier residences from November 5 – 23, 2012. The three week inter-house competition engages students to reduce energy and water consumption by taking daily conservation actions in their residence.

Residence houses in Totem Park will compete against the other to see which house can reduce its energy the most, using Lucid Design’s real-time energy conservation dashboard, as well as track participation points. Residence houses at Place Vanier will compete based on participation points – gained by taking daily actions, attending energy and water conservation themed events, participating in conservation campaigns and making sustainability commitments.

There is over $1000 in prizes to be won…. not to mention bragging rights.

Survey

If you live in Totem Park or Place Vanier, take our survey today to help us better understand energy and water behaviours in residence.

Sponsors and Partners

The 2012 competition is sponsored by AMS Sustainability, FortisBC, Campus Sustainability, Residence Life and Common Energy UBC.