In February 2026, students living on upper campus will be participating in the Power Down Showdown, a new competition encouraging residents to — in the words of The Administrative Office of Sustainability (AOS), “get energy conscious.”
The Power Down Showdown, which is part of the existing All-Hall Brawl, is a collaborative effort between the AOS, Residence Hall Association (RHA), and Student Office of Sustainability (SOS).
Across the month of February, students will compete to decrease their hall’s energy usage from their numbers during February 2025, with the hall recording the greatest energy reduction winning a variety of prizes.
For this competition, the university will be partnering with Focus on Energy, a statewide program encouraging energy-efficiency and usage of renewable resources. Iryna Levada, a Political Science and Geography double major and RHA’s Environmental and Sustainability Chair, said the partnership would be used to collect data on energy consumption.
“Each week, we will be pulling data (on) energy usage in each hall and announcing winners,” Levada said. “Each residence hall on upper campus competes with data of their energy consumption from last year, so we do not expect Towers to compete equally for reducing energy with smaller halls such as Horan Hall.”
The top three halls with the greatest energy reduction each week will receive All-Hall Brawl points, while the hall with the greatest energy reduction at the end of the month will receive more prizes.
These prizes include $200 from SOS, which Levada said could be used for a hall innovation or an exclusive event, as well as a trophy.
According to Lauren Jordahl, a third-year Political Science major and Student Director of SOS, the organizations involved hope that reducing energy consumption will provide students with greater rewards than just the tangible prizes.
“It’s important to get underclassmen in the know of how they can reduce their energy,” Jordahl said. “In their lives, they’re going to want to save money and save energy. New students who are living on their own for the first time (might) not understand just how much energy you have to use to have your lights on or run water.”
For students looking to participate, there are many small actions they can take to reduce their energy usage.
“(Students) can switch off the lights, of course, switch off any devices that are not being used, take less time in showers and encourage their friends to participate,” Levada said.
Jordahl also offered a few energy reduction tips that may not be the first to come to students’ minds.
“Keep windows and doors closed to keep the air circulating,” Jordahl said. “Air dry your clothes instead of running them in the dryer twice, and reduce water by not leaving the water on when washing your face or brushing your teeth. A lot of really small things add up.”
While practicing these small actions will help out halls in the Power Down Showdown, they’re also important skills to have as sustainability becomes more important worldwide.
“In the future, resources will be running out and more sought after,” Jordahl said. “So, the economic side of sustainability is going to grow more important in our daily lives. Making sure everyone’s conscious of our impact on the environment promotes a healthy way of living and a more sustainable life.”
Outside of directly taking actions to reduce energy consumption, there are other ways students can raise awareness of the Power Down Showdown and how to live an eco-friendly lifestyle.
“First of all, talk about it,” Levada said. “Word of mouth is a powerful tool in raising awareness. [Students] can also join sustainability-related clubs and activities, including SOS commission meetings, the RHA’s Environmental and Sustainability committee and community-wide advocacy groups in Eau Claire.”
At SOS commission meetings, students can also share their own ideas about things the greater campus community can do to become more sustainable.
“By powering down, you’re powering yourself up,” Levada said.
The Power Down Showdown competition will go until February 28th, while SOS holds weekly meetings every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Davies (learn more on BlugoldConnect+).
Coleman can be reached at [email protected].
