Efficient Water Use Computer Energy in the Quad

Environmental Audit at Villanova UniversityBiology 1555 Spring - 2003

Recommendations:• We feel that students should be encouraged to use the stand-by

mode, and perhaps offer students incentives for complying. • A state in which your computer consumes less electric

power when it is idle, but remains available for immediate use.

• Another option for students to implement in their attempt to conserve computer energy is hibernation.• A state in which your computer saves any Windows settings

that you changed, writes any information that is currently stored in memory to your hard disk, and turns off your computer.

Objective:• To determine which living-style is more water efficient, South

Campus dorms or West Campus apartments and St. Mary’s. To the answer to this question we compared the amount of water used in both locations.

Current Situation:• Two Types of Dorms

1. Traditional Dorms• Dorm buildings on South have

community bathrooms and a larger dining hall to accommodate the needs of the residents.

2. Apartment-Style Dorms• Apartment buildings on West include self-kitchens, with

and two bathrooms per four people in an apartment.• The University may be considering the construction of a new

residence hall.

Green Dining

Current Situation:Styrofoam:• Non-Biodegradable• Made from Petroleum, a non-renewable resource• When it is Produced:

• Releases CO2 , a greenhouse gas• Releases CO, an air pollutant• Pollutes H2O

Figure 1. Styrofoam Use In Dining Halls

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Evaluation:• South Campus (Traditional Dorms)

• In the year 2002, the University paid a total of $113,789.00 for water usage for 1,296 residents on campus.• The total amount of water used was 31,140,924 gallons.

• In the year 2002, it cost the University $7.00 per month, per resident.• Each resident consumed an average of 2,002 gallons of

water.• West Campus (Apartment-Style Dorms)

• In the year 2002, the University paid a total of $126,971.00 for water usage for 1,482 residents on campus.• The total amount of water used was 38,054,300 gallons.

• In the year 2002, it cost the University $7.00 per month, per resident.• Each resident consumed an average of 2,140 gallons of

water.

Objective:• Advocating Styrofoam alternatives in Villanova University’s

dining halls.

Alternatives:• Starch Based Plastics:

• Biodegradable• Made from renewable resource, such as starch or corn• When it is Produced:

• If 2% of US market used this product it would reduce CO2 emissions by 140 million pounds in one year.

• If 3% US market used starch-related products 4.2 million feet of landfill space.

MPG

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Hybrid Ford Explorer Jeep Dodge Van Toyota RAV 4Electric

MPG

Alternatives:• Find the type of living style that makes the best use of water.

• Traditional dorms with communal kitchens• Larger apartments• Use of recycled water (for non-potable uses)

Recommendations:• Due to the fact that the results were not significantly different,

we are unable to recommend one living style over another, based on finances.

• One variable that was not taken into consideration is use of water in Donohue Hall on South Campus. Since students are not restricted from eating in Donohue, it serves more than South Campus alone.• If this were taken into consideration, it would significantly

increase the average water usage on South Campus.

Current Situation:• 54 million office computers

use 1% of the nation’s electricity.• More than half of the electricity

used to power computers is wasted:• 60% left on at night.• 45% of monitors not power managed.

• Power management places monitor in low-power sleep mode after a period of inactivity (Source: EPA).

• From this information, we inferred that this type of behavior may also occur at Villanova.

Objective:• To quantify the energy used by computers in Sullivan and

Sheehan Halls in order to calculate the environmental impact of this energy use.

Project Group:

• Tim Dinan, Meg Jordan & Ryan Killeen

Project Group:

• Melissa Ledesma, Sarah Hay, Courtney Biggins, Kristen Fanti, Laura Egan, Sheila Moynihan, Peter CascianoProject Group:

• Steve Schaffling, Kirstin Surdy, Alexandra Martinez, Matthew Szelag, Jerry Boyle, Ashley Cook

Project Group:

• Meaghan Joyce, Michele May and Jessica Petrongolo

Evaluation:• In light of statistics and Villanova’s Green Purchasing Plan we

feel that starch based containers are better for the Villanova Campus Community and the Environment for all.

Recommendation:• We recommend that Villanova use starch based products in

dining facilities rather than polystyrene.

Automotive Efficiency on Campus

Current Situation:• There are over 200 vehicles used by Villanova University, including

passenger cars, trucks, small equipment such as mowers and leaf blowers, and passenger and utility vans.

• An average annual delivery of gas on campus is approximately 4,000 gallons.

• The amount of gas used in 2002 was approximately 4,475 gallons.• The University is paying about $0.75 less a gallon than the market price.• Only super unleaded gasoline is distributed from the campus pump,

which ranges in price from about $1.60-$1.80• Problems:

• “Tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks account for almost a third of the air pollution in the United States” (EPA).

• Some of the choices of vehicles that the University uses are not advisable according to the Environmental Protection Agency• For example, the Mail Services, Custodial Services, Campus

Ministry, Facilities, and Dining Services use Dodge Vans, which are ranked one out of a possible five stars for positive environmental impact (EPA).

• Economic cost of vehicles, insurance, registration, repairs, and gas and oil.

Annual Fuel Cost

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Annual Fuel Cost

Fig. 3. Savings of Greenhouse Gases Per Year

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Comparing computer running time

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It’s as Easy as 1, 2, 3…Go to the Start ButtonSelect ShutdownGo to options and select Stand-by

It’s as Easy as 1, 2, 3…Go to the Start ButtonSelect ShutdownGo to options and select Stand-by

Alternatives:• Utility carts

• The campus currently uses roughly 25 carts.

• Hybrid/Electric cars• Propane-powered vehicles• A possible

interdepartmental rental system to decrease the number of vehicles that are not being used by one given department.

Objective:• To research and evaluate the current situation of vehicles on campus

and to develop alternative solutions to limiting the environmental impact and economic costs.

Recommendation:• Get it together! There is a great deal of confusion among departments;

vehicles need to be accounted for and assess their importance.• The University should develop a centralized interdepartmental rental

system to decrease the number of vehicles.• Consider alternative sources to cut down on the amount of gasoline

being used and the environmental problems.

Evaluation: We went several departments, including Facilities, Public Safety,

Campus Ministry, Dining Services, and Mail Services, and found out information about the vehicles they use, how often they use them, and what they are used for.

Not many people actually knew what they had, how it was used, and what they used it for. It made us feel like we were actually digging for information when it should be accessible and easy to find. For example, the Dining Services were not aware of who to contact

about information regarding their vehicles, and records showed they had more vehicles than they were aware of.

Since all of the departments keep track of mileage on gas cards, they are not aware of how much gas they are using.

Alternatives:• You can do nothing at all to change

your computer habits.• Shut off your computer completely

when not in use.• Or, you can minimize environmental

impacts by using stand-by to conserve energy.

Evaluation:• Even though shutting down the computer conserves the most

amount of energy, we realize that students probably won’t comply with this for various reasons (e.g., Instant Messenger).

• Therefore, we feel everyone should use stand-by in order to save energy

• During orientation there could be a session in which students would receive their lap-tops and learn how to manually put their computer in sleep, stand-by or hibernation.

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Tony Alfono, Sara Carlson Michael McGuckin, Kevin O'Donnell, Ric Laudenslager, Rachel Schaller, and James Zaleski for their help in completing the audits.

West vs. South: Average Water Usage

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Greenhouse Gases (emissions in tons)

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Greenhouse Gases(emissions in tons)

statistics for all graphs found at www.fueleconomy.gov

http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/utilprof/peco.asp