Webinar Q&A: Using Energy Competitions to Reduce Building Energy Use

Last week’s webinar on energy competitions generated more questions than we were able to answer during the live Q&A session, so as promised we are answering all the questions left on the table here on our blog.  You can download the presentation slides (.pdf) or sign up to view and listen to the recording: Using Energy Competitions to Reduce Building Energy Use.

Q: Do you have any feedback on building occupants and their energy-related behaviours once a competition closes? Do they experience a proverbial competition ‘hangover’ and revert to their original energy practices?

A: Extreme measures used to conserve energy like extremely low lighting levels, or turning off hot water or the coffee maker are usually abandoned once the competition ends.  However, competitions often reveal sustainable practices that can continue year round; for example after a competition we have seen our clients turn off under-used refrigerators, remove lights in areas that don’t require them, naturally ventilate a server room by opening a door, and turn off unused computers and lights.

Q: Of the 9 competitions that Pulse was involved in, what was the average savings over the long run?

A: We saw savings up to 7% over a 6 month period, but many of the competitions completed just recently, so we don’t have average, long term savings for all of them.  Some of the buildings that did well during the competition due to extreme actions that were not sustainable over the long term, and therefore they experienced little to no persistent savings. Read the rest of this entry »

Pulse Energy office uses new competition module and reduces energy use by 8.8%