Phantom Load in the UW-Madison Residence Halls Wisconsin Students for Sustainability Ben Williams Allison Struss Sarah Solberg Ben

The Purpose To help UW-Madison understand the significance of phantom load in the overall residential hall electrical consumption Ben

Phantom Load Definition The electricity consumed by electronic appliances while they are switched off or in a standby mode Also known as... Phantom Energy, Vampire Load, Standby Load Ben

Team Roles Ben

Review of Past Studies Oregon University Humboldt State University denied access to residence halls survey method 33% of electrical load Humboldt State University constant loss of 50-100 watts 5-23% of electrical load Ben

Study Design

Study Design Four Step Process Inventory Allison

Online Survey Used to understand the residence halls as a whole Focused on appliances in student rooms Inventory Allison

Online Survey Inventory Allison

ECW Modeling Used to understand the electrical consumption of three specific residence halls Used building variables to provide yearly electricity use Inventory Allison

ECW Modeling Inputs (building variables) People Density Number of Floors Insulation R-Value and U-Value Hours of Occupancy Ventilation (cubic ft per min per person) Air Conditioning Efficiency Lighting Power Density Helped clarify the cause of phantom load Inventory Allison

Metering of Individual Appliances Used to understand the phantom load of specific appliances/electronics Measured using Kill-A-Watt meters Inventory Allison

Metering of Individual Appliances Inventory Allison

Residence Hall Inventory Collected data in actual student rooms Used to understand phantom load in individual rooms Supplied overall phantom load for each hall Inventory Allison

Residence Hall Inventory Witte Hall Freshmen Double rooms Downtown 1964 Never been renovated Sarah

Residence Hall Inventory Chadbourne Hall All ages/years Double rooms Middle campus 1957 Renovated 2007 Sarah

Residence Hall Inventory Tripp Hall 75% Upperclassmen Single Rooms Lakeshore 1926 Renovated 2010 Sarah

Review of Ethics Institutional Review Board (IRB) Be systematic and consistent Make students anonymous No paper trail Ignore objects not in inventory Sarah

Affordances & Assumptions

Affordances & Assumptions Student Honesty Online Survey ECW Model Variables Kill-A-Watt Meters Leopold “Green House” Ben

Student Honesty IRB Considerations Declare that we were “students”, not “employees” Be very respectful of their privacy and time Trust the answers provided were accurate Ben

Online Survey Distribution Intended for every residential hall No access to email list Only received 55 responses Completed online surveys were unique and accurate Assuming that the small response can support the results from the inventory Ben

ECW Model Variables Some variables were difficult to obtain Plug Load Density Infiltration rate Solar Heat Gain Coefficient Residence Halls characterized as Hotels Difficult variables were based on relevant literature Ben

Kill-A-Watt Meters Some meter models only had accuracies to nearest 1 Watt Desired accuracy to 0.1 Watt Determined accuracy by combination of research and metering Ben

Leopold “Green House” Included in scope of procedure Received approval to include students in our procedure Only residential hall to not volunteer to participate All residential halls consume similar amounts of phantom load Ben

Results Sarah

Building Demographics Results Gender Occupancy of rooms Learning Community Age Sarah

Electrical Consumption Results Sarah

Quantity and Occurrence Results Sarah line up appliances

$50,000 Main Appliances $12,180 Television $10,660 $6,600 Computers Results Phantom Load 5.5% total Television $12,180 $10,660 $6,600 $4,570 $4,060 $12,690 24% 50% Operational Computers $50,000 21% 13% Microwaves 9% Printer Phantom 50% 8% Phone Chargers 25% Various Appliances -12 electronics Sarah other category and cost associated with each keep track of the ___ of ____ of ____ leave stuff up

Overall Results 3 tested residence halls: $15,000 University Housing: $50,747 19 residence halls $6.80 each student per year 7,414 students Sarah more info-students, halls

Recommendations for UW-Housing Sarah

Education First must inform students about phantom load and its significance Conservation programs-Campus Conservation Informational posters House Fellow house programs competition log During move-in Sarah

Smart Power Strips Cut power to appliances when not in use About $40 for one, would take 6 years to see pay off in residence halls Would require student education Sarah

Key Card System Would control electricity flow to outlets when students are away from rooms Pulling card out stops phantom load Requires retrofitting buildings Further study needed to determine worth Sarah

General Recommendations for Everyone Allison

Take Home Messages 1) Unplug any electronic charger when it is not actually charging your device. Allison

Take Home Messages 2) Keep TVs, DVD players, and gaming systems plugged into a power strip that can easily be turned on or off. Allison

3) Unplug microwaves and coffee makers whenever possible. Take Home Messages 3) Unplug microwaves and coffee makers whenever possible. Allison

Take Home Messages 4) Hair dryers, straighteners, and curling irons do not contribute to phantom load and can be left plugged in at all times if wanted. Allison

Take Home Messages 5) Turn printers off when not in use, do not keep them in standby mode. Allison

6) Remember: When a light is on, phantom load is present. Take Home Messages 6) Remember: When a light is on, phantom load is present. Allison

Summary of Research 5.5% of UW-Madison residence hall electricity Oregon University: 33% Humboldt State University: 5-23% $50,000 per year Steps can be taken to reduce phantom load Allison

Many thanks to… Amy & Angela (course supervisors) Mike Henry (mentor, UW Housing) Scott Schuetter (Energy Center of Wisconsin) Allison

Questions? Allison