Web site tracks faculty, staff energy use

NAU’s Office of Sustainability in collaboration with Visible Energy have launched a Visible NAU web site, nau.visibleenergy.com, as part of a campaign to help faculty and staff better understand their home energy habits by comparing their usage to other NAU faculty and staff.

The site allows employees who are APS or Unisource customers to sign up to have their energy data anonymously uploaded to the Visible NAU website where it can be compared with other NAU employees. Users will only be recognized as members of a certain department.

The idea is that by making energy use visible and competitive, users will decrease their usage, translate these new habits to the workplace, and ultimately help save energy, money and the environment.

The site will track departmental scores to see which department’s faculty and staff are using the least energy at home.

It will also track which department’s employees improve the most. Everyone who participates will be entered in a raffle to win energy-efficiency products and services.  The drawing will take place April 22, Earth Day.

Tracking, however, will continue even after the completion of the campaign and periodic announcements will be made to the campus community regarding departmental improvements.