A new energy conservation system at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has dorm residents competing against each other to have the most energy efficient dorm on campus.

The new system, implemented by the Lucid Design Company tracks the energy output of two dorms on the UW-Milwaukee campus and displays the data for students to monitor on an online dashboard.

According to Scott Peak, UW-Milwaukee Housing director, the program records all utility use from residence hall meters and presents the data on a user friendly online dashboard, where students can see in real time how much energy is being used in their dorm.

“This program is one of the most friendly energy systems to use. It’s especially easy to use from a student’s vantage point,” said Peak.

The system is currently installed in two of UW-Milwaukee’s newest residence halls, Riverview and Cambridge Commons, but Peak said he hopes all the dorms on campus will have these tracking systems in the future.

A statement from UW-Milwaukee said students in these dorms can effectively monitor their electrical, heating and water use and even compete to see which building can reduce their energy consumption the most.

Peak said in addition to their on-campus contest, the two dorms are also participating in the Campus Conservation Nationals 2010 competition, which involves energy consumption data from 40 schools across the country being recorded for three weeks in November.

Students can track their school’s progress online and view their nation-wide ranking. The school with the lowest percentage of energy output will be the winner, Peak said.

Peak said other competitions among the residence halls will be implemented later this year.

Peak said the system is effectively showing students how to reduce their carbon footprints by showing how much energy is specifically used day-to-day in each dorm.

“When people use these systems, they start understanding and caring a lot more about their energy output,” said Lucid Design Company’s Senior Sales Manager Kai Mak.

Mak said the streaming online data on energy consumption dramatically changes energy usages in buildings because people become much more cognizant of their carbon footprints.

The Lucid Design Company has implemented over 700 energy recording systems in buildings across the country, many of them at universities like UW-Milwaukee.

“Universities across the country have really rallied behind a central goal to reduce energy at their schools,” Mak said.

Gary Brown, the director of UW-Madison’s campus planning and landscape architecture staff, said several buildings on campus have energy recording systems similar to those at UW-Milwaukee.

However, Brown said, the energy output from these buildings cannot be tracked online.

Currently, there are not energy conservation systems in any of UW’s residence halls, but systems may be installed in new buildings in the future, Brown said.

UW-Milwaukee is the first and only Wisconsin school to use the company’s online dashboard to monitor student energy output in the residence halls, Mak said.

“Implementing these systems empowers not just dorm occupants, but students, faculty and the surrounding community to better manage their energy output,” Mak said.