Laundry Efficiency Pilot Initiative

Stanford University Green Campus Program Laundry Efficiency Pilot Initiative

LAUNDRY EFFICIENCY PILOT PROFILE

•  WHAT: Education and outreach to campus laundry facility users on efficient laundry practices.

•  WHY: Inform/educate campus residents; Realize energy/water savings; Convince Stanford Housing to actively support these practices in the residence halls.

•  WHO: SGCP; Stanford Housing

•  WHEN: Fall Quarter 2009

•  WHERE: Studios Apartments

SOWING THE SEED FOR THIS PILOT

•  Suggestion of departing Sustainability Manager (Nick Kaestner)

•  Laundry facility user study (2007) –  Graduate student research project –  Survey of 124 individuals across 6 undergraduate residences –  3 month data collection in houses with low to high washing practices

(based on # monthly loads/resident) –  Key findings:

•  Majority (67%) reported sorting clothes for warm/hot water cycles •  28% did so out of habit; 49% did so on account of color bleeding •  85% couldn’t tell a real difference between hot and cold cycles •  52% would consider line/rack drying •  Overall conclusion: Affecting laundry use patterns could take

relatively little education and awareness building

PROJECT PLANNING

•  Project Scoping Meetings: –  Stanford Housing –  WEB: The washer/dryer rental company –  Green Living Coordinators

•  Meeting Outcomes: –  Housing can be a key project champion. Housing staff have

access to energy use data, they can influence the laundry equipment vendor, and are open to expanding pilot efforts.

–  WEB agreed to semi-adhesive (static) stickers

–  Identified Studios Graduate Complex as attractive target for pilot

•  Placing static stickers atop washers

•  Informational tabling

•  Resident laundry attitudes & usage survey

PILOT LAUNCH

RESIDENT SURVEY RESULTS

•  90 Studios residents responded

•  80% of respondents noticed the static stickers

•  87% reported sorting clothes for warm/hot water washes

•  45% reported switching to cold water washing

•  42% reported a preference to line/rack dry clothes

PILOT EXPANSION

•  As a result of resident survey, the team purchased 10 drying racks for Studios residents to check-out

•  Rack usage/ frequency tracking to occur in winter quarter

PILOT IMPACTS/METRICS

•  Annualized, based on November 2009 usage data and results of resident attitude & usage survey:

* Assumes 20% Studios residents switch to cold water only wash cycles 1/week.

LESSONS LEARNED

•  Recruit project volunteers for broader education/outreach

•  Include samples of cold water detergent as incentive and attention grabber

•  Data/metering challenges: Laundry facilities not all metered separately from living areas (so natural gas reading can include heating, showers and washers.)

•  More intentional planning on an integrated (washing and drying) approach

•  Remain vigilant for potential roadblocks: Approval of equipment vendor; Housing/Res Life policies (e.g.: appropriate use of drying racks)

PROJECT RECOGNITION

Katherine Heflin and the 2009 Stanford Green Campus Team Email: [email protected]