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Explanation of Graph
The menu at the top of this page controlled by the arrow allows you to express and compare electricity consumption and its impact in four different sets of currencies. Use the tabs above the graph to choose a time scale: "Last Hour" compares electricity use among dorms during the last sixty minutes, "Today" compares use since 12:00 AM this morning, "This Month"' compares use since the first of this month. Click on a bar to see patterns of consumption over time in the associated dorm. For most dormitories, the electricity displayed on these graphs includes consumption by mechanical systems, lighting and anything that is plugged into an outlet. Use by the commercial kitchens and dining facilities is excluded from the dormitory comparisons. Heating of air and water are not included in electricity consumption.
The accumulator gauge in the bottom right hand corner of each graph displays accumulated consumption in the selected currency thus far during the selected time period.
The Four Currencies
Select from the icons below this graph to view costs of electricity consumed in the dormitories expressed in currencies of pollution emissions and price paid by the College in utility bills. Values are expressed per person so that costs in different dormitories can be meaningfully compared. For further description of the environmental impacts of electricity use in Oberlin dormitories check out the Source Energy page of this website. Personal decisions made by students account for up to 50% of electricity consumed in Oberlin dormitories and therefore 50% of the environmental and economic costs.
Select from the icons below the graph to view energy consumption in different currencies. Although the system monitors only electrical energy consumption, energy can be expressed in a variety of equivalent energy units. Our goal here is to allow you to develop an intuitive sense of what this energy use means. For the burgers, the site compares the "embodied energy" – how much total energy is used to produce the veggie burger and the hamburger.
Electricity consumption expressed relative to the inherent efficiency of that dorm and its residents. This graph basically allows you to compare the component of electricity consumption that is due to resident behavior. Since Oberlin dorms were built at different times and with different technologies, each has a distinct inherent efficiency. During the fall of '06 the Campus Resource Monitoring System team monitored electricity consumption in each dorm without providing feedback to residents. Average electricity consumption during this period serves as a baseline for assessing relative consumption. The equation used to determine relative consumption is = (average electricity consumed by a dorm during the time period selected) / (baseline consumption for that dorm).
Some Oberlin dorms contain kitchens and dining halls. In the dormitory comparisons, we subtract out electricity use by these facilities so that a fair comparison can be made among dorms for residential use. This graph displays electricity use by the kitchens expressed per eater.
Competition Bar Graph
Electricity consumption during the competition relative to baseline consumption; the dorm with the smallest bar is currently winning the competition. Since Oberlin dorms were built at different times and with different technologies, each has a distinct inherent efficiency. During the fall of '06 the Campus Resource Monitoring System team monitored electricity consumption in each dorm without providing feedback to residents. Average electricity consumption during this period serves as a baseline for assessing electricity reduction during the competition. The dorm that consumes the least average electricity relative to this baseline consumption wins the competition. The equation used on the competition bar graph is bar length = (average electricity consumed by a dorm during the competition so far) / (baseline consumption for that dorm).
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