Past Projects
UC Reserve Energy Audits
This year, the PowerSave Campus team at UCI collaborated with the UC Reserve System and graduate student, Hope Pollard, to promote energy efficiency and the reduction of fossil fuel usage at a variety of UC research facilities. The PowerSave Campus team at UCI will help conduct energy audits at these sites throughout the year. Their first audit was at UC Riverside's James San Jacinto Mountain Reserve from April 17th-18th. The Reserve was already extremely efficient, so there was little that the team found to update. Good job, James San Jacinto Mountain Reserve!
Your Sustainable Future: Networking Night
Description: On April 29th, 2015 the PowerSave Campus team hosted “Your Sustainable Future,” a spring networking night that connected 20 students and professionals who shared a similar passion for sustainability! The night was filled with fun and delicious food funded by The Green Initiative Fund. Students participated in a “speed-dating” style of networking, rotating between UC Irvine professionals and stakeholders from organizations Orange County every fifteen to twenty minutes.
Campus Conservation Nationals
Project Lead: Jacqueline Kha
Description: PowerSave Campus at UCI's annual Middle Earth Water Battle is now part of Campus Conservation Nationals, the nation's largest energy and water reduction competition for colleges and universities. Residence halls in Middle Earth will compete to see who can save the most water and energy! It's starts on February 16th, so get ready to save!
Description: PowerSave Campus at UCI's annual Middle Earth Water Battle is now part of Campus Conservation Nationals, the nation's largest energy and water reduction competition for colleges and universities. Residence halls in Middle Earth will compete to see who can save the most water and energy! It's starts on February 16th, so get ready to save!
Academic Infusion:
Presentation to Global Environmental Brigades
Project Lead: Jaenna Wessling
Description: An energy presentation was given to the Global Environmental Brigades club at UC Irvine. GEB club members were able to gain knowledge about sustainable practices they could establish in their lives through information on energy conservation and efficiency. The students were able to learn about energy usage worldwide, as well as more specifically in the U.S. and California. In addition, students learned the basics of energy such as its units, where it comes from, and where and how it’s used. By the end of the presentations, students were able to distinguish between non-renewable and renewable energy sources. After learning the basics of energy, students became knowledgeable about energy efficiency and conservation tips so that they could practice daily actions that would save energy and encourage others to do the same. Before coming to the meeting, students were given a pre-survey to determine their energy and sustainability knowledge. After the presentation, students took a follow up post-survey to gauge what they learned and were given the option to participate in a sustainability pledge.
Description: An energy presentation was given to the Global Environmental Brigades club at UC Irvine. GEB club members were able to gain knowledge about sustainable practices they could establish in their lives through information on energy conservation and efficiency. The students were able to learn about energy usage worldwide, as well as more specifically in the U.S. and California. In addition, students learned the basics of energy such as its units, where it comes from, and where and how it’s used. By the end of the presentations, students were able to distinguish between non-renewable and renewable energy sources. After learning the basics of energy, students became knowledgeable about energy efficiency and conservation tips so that they could practice daily actions that would save energy and encourage others to do the same. Before coming to the meeting, students were given a pre-survey to determine their energy and sustainability knowledge. After the presentation, students took a follow up post-survey to gauge what they learned and were given the option to participate in a sustainability pledge.
Mesa Court - Mega Energy Competition
Project Lead: Brij Patel and Jacqueline Kha
Description: The PowerSave Campus team hosted an energy battle with the residential halls in Mesa Court to compete against other SoCal Universities - CSU Longbeach and UCLA - to see which school could conserve the most energy! The UCI team was able to have a 12% decrease in energy over the 6 week battle, and saved over 8000 kwh!
Description: The PowerSave Campus team hosted an energy battle with the residential halls in Mesa Court to compete against other SoCal Universities - CSU Longbeach and UCLA - to see which school could conserve the most energy! The UCI team was able to have a 12% decrease in energy over the 6 week battle, and saved over 8000 kwh!
Past Projects: Summer 2014
Mesa Court Residence Hall Energy Efficiency Video
Project Lead: Carmelisa Morales
Description: A video to educate students in Mesa Court, a residential community for freshman at UC Irvine, about energy efficiency in their residence halls through simple, daily actions to lower their energy use, and to show case many of Mesa Court’s efforts towards energy efficiency. The interns will interview several Mesa Court residents and ask them what energy efficiency means to them, and will allow the students to guide the interns around their residence halls to show the actions that partake into save energy. Some of these simple tips include using power strips for multiple plugs, turning off unnecessary lights during the day, opening windows, taking shorter showers, unplugging unused appliances in the kitchen, and drying clothes with full loads.
Description: A video to educate students in Mesa Court, a residential community for freshman at UC Irvine, about energy efficiency in their residence halls through simple, daily actions to lower their energy use, and to show case many of Mesa Court’s efforts towards energy efficiency. The interns will interview several Mesa Court residents and ask them what energy efficiency means to them, and will allow the students to guide the interns around their residence halls to show the actions that partake into save energy. Some of these simple tips include using power strips for multiple plugs, turning off unnecessary lights during the day, opening windows, taking shorter showers, unplugging unused appliances in the kitchen, and drying clothes with full loads.
Summer For-Credit Internship
Project Leads: Janet Ortega
Description: The PowerSave Campus team at UCI had many qualified applicants in Spring quarter to become our summer for-credit interns for 2014. Four for-credit interns were selected and will help the UCI team work on energy and irrigation audits in Middle Earth and Mesa Court Housing, as well as preparing for our Water and Energy Battles in Fall quarter 2014. We look forward to having new additions to our team!
Description: The PowerSave Campus team at UCI had many qualified applicants in Spring quarter to become our summer for-credit interns for 2014. Four for-credit interns were selected and will help the UCI team work on energy and irrigation audits in Middle Earth and Mesa Court Housing, as well as preparing for our Water and Energy Battles in Fall quarter 2014. We look forward to having new additions to our team!
Past Projects: Fall 2013
Middle Earth Water
Battle 2013
Project Lead: Janet Ortega
Description: A competition between freshman residence hall buildings to reduce water consumption. In order to raise awareness in the dorms, presentations were given to residential advisers in the early stages of the competition to explain the rules and prizes for their residents. The residents were then able to follow live updates of their water savings through Facebook and Aquacue dashboard pages. The residents were eligible to win individual prizes, and the winning residence hall won $1,000, and donated the money to the charity of their choice through UCI Housing. The entire community was able to reduce it's water usage by 1%, with the winning hall reducing 16%, and the total amount of water saved was 13,000 gallons.
Battle 2013
Project Lead: Janet Ortega
Description: A competition between freshman residence hall buildings to reduce water consumption. In order to raise awareness in the dorms, presentations were given to residential advisers in the early stages of the competition to explain the rules and prizes for their residents. The residents were then able to follow live updates of their water savings through Facebook and Aquacue dashboard pages. The residents were eligible to win individual prizes, and the winning residence hall won $1,000, and donated the money to the charity of their choice through UCI Housing. The entire community was able to reduce it's water usage by 1%, with the winning hall reducing 16%, and the total amount of water saved was 13,000 gallons.
Academic Infusion
Project Lead: Brij Patel
Description: An energy efficiency presentation covering major themes, in which Brij worked with professor Matthews, and gathered data collected from a pre-survey given to the class. After presenting a slideshow to the students, Dr. Matthews then distributed a post-survey. Comparing the surveys, the results showed a significant increase in the proportion of correct answers after students had seen the presentation. There were higher percentages of corrects answers in the post survey than the pre-survey. The survey was conducted in a class of thirty students, twenty of whom attempted to take the survey. The questionnaire consisted of some simple, and some complex questions about energy efficiency, power saving and where energy comes from.
Project Lead: Brij Patel
Description: An energy efficiency presentation covering major themes, in which Brij worked with professor Matthews, and gathered data collected from a pre-survey given to the class. After presenting a slideshow to the students, Dr. Matthews then distributed a post-survey. Comparing the surveys, the results showed a significant increase in the proportion of correct answers after students had seen the presentation. There were higher percentages of corrects answers in the post survey than the pre-survey. The survey was conducted in a class of thirty students, twenty of whom attempted to take the survey. The questionnaire consisted of some simple, and some complex questions about energy efficiency, power saving and where energy comes from.