Community Development would like to enable Oberlin residents to cut back on the energy they consume.
The Coalition for Community Development will begin a pilot program on Monday, October 6, installing the first energy conservation kit in an Oberlin home. The program will provide energy conservation kits at cost to Oberlin community home-owners. Volunteers will be trained to help residents install the kits free of charge.
The kits will pin-point the energy needs of homes.
The Coalition is a result of the Symposium on Sustainable Development, held at Oberlin earlier this year. The Coalition is committed to decreasing the environmental problems associated with increasing urban sprawl.
Installing the conservation kits will not only conserve environmental resource, but will help Oberlin residents save money. Paul Rimelspach, President of Energy Designs, Inc., said that installing one low-flow showerhead, two faucet aerators, and a set of toilet tank dams can save $337 per year.
Installing a hot water heater insulation blanket can save $26 per year for an electric heater and five dollars per year for a gas heater.
The Coalition has applied for an Environmental Protection Agency grant to be able to make 1,000 more kits available at cost.
The next project for the Coalition will be "Growing a Sustainable Oberlin," and will include the development of school-based community gardens.
The Office of Residential Life and Services issued a statement Thursday addressing the potential danger of halogen torchiere floor lamps. Halogen torchiere floor lamps have been responsible for 189 fires and 11 deaths since 1992.
The statement emphasized that the College"in no way endorses or encourages students to purchase halogen torchiere floor lamps," citing the fire threat and also their energy inefficiency for their stand. Residential Life and Services did not prohibit the lamps in dorms, however, stipulating several conditions which will have to be met in order for a student to keep a halogen torchiere floor lamp in his or her room.
The conditions included restricting the wattage for halogen bulbs in the lamps to 300 watts or less, and requiring a protective shield to cover the bulb. The policy also included instructions to never leave the lamp near anything flammable and not to drape anything over the lamp. It also suggests that students turn the lamp off when no one is in the room and suggests that lower settings are preferable to high for lamps with a dimmer switch.
Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 126, Number 5, October 3, 1997
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