Results and Conclusions:
After calculating the average power consumption of the necessary devices (lamp, fan, space heater, water heater) in Watts, our next step was to assess the prevalence of these devices in the dormitories in question. We surveyed 10 random rooms in each building, attempting to identify a distribution of rooms of varying sizes (both singles and doubles) in each building. We attempted to survey a distribution of rooms of equivalent sizes in each building. Our survey asked students to assess their average daily usage for each device over the month of November.
After our survey, we compiled the aggregate device usage hours for each device. Additionally, we multiplied those usage hours by the average power consumption rate (based on our findings from the WattsUpPro) for that device. We compiled all of that data to find the total power consumption for the pertinent devices of those students. These are our results:
Lathrop:
Lamp power consumption: 114hours x 14.4W = 1641.6Wh
Fan power consumption: 27hours x 39.2W = 1058.2Wh
Space heater power consumption: 55hours x 1460W = 80,300Wh
Water heater power consumption: 1hour x 669.6W = 669.6Wh
Total power consumption: 83,669.4Wh/day
Davison:
Lamp power consumption: 65hous x 14.4W = 936Wh
Fan power consumption: 90hours x 39.2W = 3528Wh
Space heater power consumption: 0hours
Water heater power consumption: .92hours x 669.6W = 613.8Wh
Total power consumption: 5,077.8Wh/day
As we can easily see, the power consumption of climate regulating devices in Lathrop House is far greater than that of Davison House. In fact, it was roughly 16.5 times greater. This confirms our initial expectation that power consumption in Lathrop House (the older dormitory) would be greater than that of Davison house.
We should note that the vast majority of the difference in power consumption derived from the use of space heaters in Lathrop. We might assume that this number derives from the older, and probably inferior, insulation in that building compared to that of Davison. We believe that a more exhaustive survey of the buildings would provide support for the significance of this trend.
It is also notable, however, that the usage of fans was more prevalent in Davison than it was in Lathrop. Perhaps we can surmise that the same insulation that necessitates so few space heaters in Davison also relates to a lack of ventilation in that building.
In summary, the average power consumption rates of climate controlling devices were far greater in Lathrop House than in Davison House. We believe that it is likely that the older nature of the Lathrop House was at least partly responsible for this phenomenon. The recent renovation of Davison will likely necessitate far less climate controlling device usage in that dorm in the recent future.
I think that your project is very interesting. I understand how climate control would be significantly more difficult in an older building than a newer building given new standards for insulation. One thing that I found interesting was that there were more fans in Davison than Lathrop. You suggested that this might be that the better insulation causes a lack of ventilation. A possible alternate reason is that the dorms are on the same heating system and as a result they set the temperature to be too hot for Davison where they need less heat and too cold in Lathrop causing the need for space heaters. I honestly have no idea if they are actually on the same heating system but I have been told repeatedly that the shared heating system is a reason why Noyes is used for winter break housing.
Additionally, I thought that looking at light and climate control devices was a great way of looking at power usage variations between new and old dorms. In reality computer and other such device usage is bound to be nearly identical across campus. However, when they renovate dorms they look to make them more energy efficient in terms of insulation and lighting so those are useful things to compare. If they had done a good job, (which your results suggest to some extent they did), the energy usage in these areas should be significantly lower in a newer building.
One question I have about your data collection is regarding the rooms you used. Since the dorms have the same floor plan, did you use equivalent rooms in each dorm? To clarify, if you used the second room to the right of the stairwell in one dorm did you use the same room in the other?
I found this project particularly interesting as a resident of Lathrop myself. Though my roommate and I don’t have a heater, during the early months of classes when it was much hotter, having fans was important. We had them on pretty much nonstop for a while. I also found you data about lighting relatable. The single light provided in the room does provide a bit depressing of an atmosphere and is often supplemented with additional lamps. I did think your data about lamps was a bit vague though. It didn’t seem in your questionnaire that there was a place to provide the wattage of the bulbs in each lamp and I wonder if that was taken into account, how it would be reflected in your results. Obviously, the bulk of power consumption is a result of climate control devices, but perhaps you could have also determined if the lamps used by Lathrop residents were on average stronger than those of Davison. But great project overall!