Prizes are given out at the individual and communal level over the course of the academic year, particularly to those who pledge to use energy carefully – by signing up as an Eco-Power Ranger!
All residents have to do is switch lights and appliances off when not in use, put a lid on the pan when cooking and not overfill the kettle. Easy!
As well as individual incentives, the best hall at the end of the year wins a massive celebratory party.
Student Switch Off Achievements
During the academic year 2009/10, the campaign ran at 33 Universities and the cumulative actions of students saving energy in halls helped to reduce electricity usage by 7% and keep over 2,100 tonnes of CO2 out of the atmosphere.
These savings came about thanks to the 12,000+ students in halls signed up as Eco-Power Rangers (over 15% of those in halls).
Over the course of the year these students were invited to screenings of climate change films, training sessions based around social marketing (effective ways of communicating and raising awareness about the campaign) and quizzes.
Eco-Power Rangers
The Eco-Power Rangers played a key role in getting their flatmates involved in the campaign too. Take Shibani Pushparajah from the University of Liverpool, for example:
"Just by making a pledge that I would save more energy, I found myself switching unnecessary lights off that are just there for convenience, switching the TV off from standby and putting a lid on the pan everytime.
"I didn’t even know that using a lid saved energy! I also found myself encouraging my flatmates to do the same and after a while they actually got on board and won prizes.
"For doing these small things I was rewarded with eco-gadgets, fairtrade T-shirts and lots of Ben & Jerry vouchers – bonus! Student Switch Off also have a lot of useful information available on their website and have drawn my attention to their funny, but informative, Youtube videos. I’m really glad I joined the Student Switch Off campaign!"
Getting involved
To get involved this year and help improve on the savings from last year, go to the Student Switch Off homepage and click on ‘Find a University’