The University of Minnesota has a fantastic program called the Power Police, which is a partnership between the student group Energy Efficiency Student Alliance and Energy Management at the U. The big idea is for students to help U of M office workers save power—especially the “phantom” or “vampire” power that electronic devices draw even when they’re turned off.
Power Police volunteers make simple changes to offices that can add up to big energy savings. In addition to saving electricity, these changes help put power conservation right in front of office workers in a way it hasn’t been before, starting the process of culture change regarding electricity consumption and making people aware that their small actions have larger impacts.
Student Sam Goldenberg is working with CERTs as part of his service learning with his class Ethics in Natural Resources. He reported back about his experiences:
I spent a few hours working with the Power Police at Pillsbury Hall. The goal of the afternoon was to continue the “blitz” that had been started the previous afternoon. We went to individual offices and asked the people in the offices if it would be okay to blitz their rooms. If they consented, which most did, we installed power strips, checked the watt output of the devices in use, and placed “turn off the light” stickers on all light fixtures. The goal of the power strips was to have them in an accessible place so when the professor left the room, all he/she needed to do was flip a switch to help save energy. We used a watt meter to see how much they were saving and gave them a note describing the project and how much they were saving.
Overall, I had a great time and I thought it was a great experience. Pillsbury Hall was an interesting building to blitz because of the layout and lack of offices. I would definitely consider using my time again to work with the Power Police.
The Power Police is a great model that other schools could easily replicate. If you are a University of Minnesota student we encourage you to get involved…If not, connect with the Energy Efficiency Student Alliance to find out how you could start a similar program at your school.
Photos by Marija Majerle, Photo Editor, The Minnesota Daily
