Frequently Asked Questions
I live in a dorm. Can I participate in EEAP?
Not yet. EEAP is trying to figure out how to include the dorms in the project. Currently, two watt nodes have been installed on Warren and Wilson dormitories and are collecting data to be used in the future.
Is EEAP an energy saving competition?
EEAP should not be confused with projects you may have heard about at other schools where houses compete against other houses to see who can save the most. Each house is compared only against itself, based on the most recent three years of data. Any savings a house has against itself will be disbursed to that house. The EEAP site does compare houses in terms of who saved the most against their past performance, but this is just for interest sake.
This February is going to be way colder than the last three Februaries & and my house is going to have to use more gas to keep us warm. Does this mean we won't get any money, just because it's colder outside?
Brilliant question. No, houses will not be penalized because one month has been colder than the last. When all of the data is entered into the EEAP site (including data back from 2002), it was also with a calculation by maintenance called �degree days,� which is basically a measurement of how cold or hot that month has been. This measurement is used as a control when calculating how much each house has saved, such that no one gets penalized for the weather being colder than usual. There is a much better explanation of degree days here.
Are we penalized if we don't save on utilities?
No. No houses will be charged for using more energy than their average.
How can our house save on utilities?
By offering incentives to save, EEAP hopes to be a proxy for home ownership. So houses can save best by reporting cold drafts to maintenance, checking for water leaks, and finding where excess electricity that is not needed is being used. Here are some of our strategies. There are also plenty of resources online for tips on how to save on utilities; here is one from the National Resources Defense Council.
Over the summer, it seems that maintenance put two dehumidifiers in our basement, and they are running all the time. This killed our savings - is there anything we can do?
Other than determining that the house does not need the given appliance, it is beyond the capacity of EEAP to adjust for appliances put in over the summer. In time, these appliances will enter into the rolling average. We are currently working on a better way of addressing this problem.
Where do our utilities come from?
What type of projects does EEAP envision with the money swept into its account?
How are the savings calculated and disbursed?
What kind of savings are we talking about here?
