The Kill-A-Watt competition is a contest between the dorms to conserve electricity. Each month, the dorm that has decreased its energy use the most from the same month the year before is the winning dorm. Each month, $100 is awarded to the winning dorm.

The Administrative Fellow at the Department of Environmental Health and Safety is the point person of the competition. She collects the data from Facilities Management each month and calculates the percentage of energy reduction for each dorm. The College has made a commitment to fund the $100 award each month.

The contest began in the early 1990s, but lost momentum when its organizers graduated. In 1998, the Environmental Action Coalition (EAC, formerly known as Campus Conservation Coalition) reinstated the competition with great success, and dorm energy consumption went down an average of 7 percent.

The Center for the Environment is the coordinator and distributor of prize money to the winning dorm each month. The Kill-A-Watt competition is a collaborative effort between EAC, the Center for the Environment and Facilities Management. Please contact Molly Buermann (buerm20m@mtholyoke.edu) for more information.

Results of the Kill-a-Watt Competition 2005-2006
(directed to the Environmental Stewardship website)