1. Phantom Load in the UW-Madison Residence Halls
Wisconsin Students for Sustainability
Ben Williams
Allison Struss
Sarah Solberg
Ben

2. The Purpose
To help UW-Madison understand the significance of phantom load in the overall residential hall electrical consumption
Ben

3. Phantom Load Definition
The electricity consumed by electronic appliances while they are switched off or in a standby mode
Also known as...
Phantom Energy, Vampire Load, Standby Load
Ben

4. Team Roles
Ben

5. Review of Past Studies Oregon University Humboldt State University
denied access to residence halls
survey method
33% of electrical load
Humboldt State University
constant loss of watts
5-23% of electrical load
Ben

6. Study Design

7. Study Design
Four Step
Process
Inventory
Allison

8. Online Survey Used to understand the residence halls as a whole
Focused on appliances in
student rooms
Inventory
Allison

9. Online Survey
Inventory
Allison

10. ECW Modeling Used to understand the electrical consumption of
three specific residence halls
Used building variables to
provide yearly electricity use
Inventory
Allison

11. ECW Modeling Inputs (building variables)
People Density
Number of Floors
Insulation R-Value and U-Value
Hours of Occupancy
Ventilation (cubic ft per min per person)
Air Conditioning Efficiency
Lighting Power Density
Helped clarify the cause of phantom load
Inventory
Allison

12. Metering of Individual Appliances
Used to understand the
phantom load of specific
appliances/electronics
Measured using Kill-A-Watt meters
Inventory
Allison

13. Metering of Individual Appliances
Inventory
Allison

14. Residence Hall Inventory
Collected data in actual
student rooms
Used to understand phantom
load in individual rooms
Supplied overall phantom load for each hall
Inventory
Allison

15. Residence Hall Inventory
Witte Hall
Freshmen
Double rooms
Downtown
1964
Never been renovated
Sarah

16. Residence Hall Inventory
Chadbourne Hall
All ages/years
Double rooms
Middle campus
1957
Renovated 2007
Sarah

17. Residence Hall Inventory
Tripp Hall
75% Upperclassmen
Single Rooms
Lakeshore
1926
Renovated 2010
Sarah

18. Review of Ethics Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Be systematic and consistent
Make students anonymous
No paper trail
Ignore objects not in inventory
Sarah

19. Affordances & Assumptions

20. Affordances & Assumptions
Student Honesty
Online Survey
ECW Model Variables
Kill-A-Watt Meters
Leopold “Green House”
Ben

21. Student Honesty IRB Considerations
Declare that we were “students”, not “employees”
Be very respectful of their privacy and time
Trust the answers provided were accurate
Ben

22. Online Survey Distribution
Intended for every residential hall
No access to list
Only received 55 responses
Completed online surveys were unique and accurate
Assuming that the small response can support the results from the inventory
Ben

23. ECW Model Variables Some variables were difficult to obtain
Plug Load Density
Infiltration rate
Solar Heat Gain Coefficient
Residence Halls characterized as Hotels
Difficult variables were based on relevant literature
Ben

24. Kill-A-Watt Meters
Some meter models only had accuracies to nearest 1 Watt
Desired accuracy to 0.1 Watt
Determined accuracy by combination of research and metering
Ben

25. Leopold “Green House” Included in scope of procedure
Received approval to include students in our procedure
Only residential hall to not volunteer to participate
All residential halls consume similar amounts of phantom load
Ben

26. Results
Sarah

27. Building Demographics
Results
Gender
Occupancy of rooms
Learning Community
Age
Sarah

28. Electrical Consumption
Results
Sarah

29. Quantity and Occurrence
Results
Sarah
line up appliances

30. $50,000 Main Appliances $12,180 Television $10,660 $6,600 Computers
Results
Phantom Load
5.5% total
Television
$12,180
$10,660
$6,600
$4,570
$4,060
$12,690
24%
50%
Operational
Computers
$50,000
21%
13%
Microwaves 9%
Printer
Phantom
50% 8%
Phone Chargers
25%
Various Appliances
-12 electronics
Sarah
other category and cost associated with each
keep track of the ___ of ____ of ____
leave stuff up

31. Overall Results 3 tested residence halls: $15,000
University Housing: $50,747
19 residence halls
$6.80 each student per year
7,414 students
Sarah
more info-students, halls

32. Recommendations for UW-Housing
Sarah

33. Education
First must inform students about phantom load and its significance
Conservation programs-Campus Conservation
Informational posters
House Fellow house programs
competition log
During move-in
Sarah

34. Smart Power Strips Cut power to appliances when not in use
About $40 for one, would take 6 years to see pay off in residence halls
Would require
student education
Sarah

35. Key Card System
Would control electricity flow to outlets when students are away from rooms
Pulling card out stops
phantom load
Requires retrofitting buildings
Further study needed to determine worth
Sarah

36. General Recommendations for Everyone
Allison

37. Take Home Messages
1) Unplug any electronic charger when it is not actually charging your device.
Allison

38. Take Home Messages
2) Keep TVs, DVD players, and gaming systems plugged into a power strip that can easily be turned on or off.
Allison

39. 3) Unplug microwaves and coffee makers whenever possible.
Take Home Messages
3) Unplug microwaves and coffee makers whenever possible.
Allison

40. Take Home Messages
4) Hair dryers, straighteners, and curling irons do not contribute to phantom load and can be left plugged in at all times if wanted.
Allison

41. Take Home Messages
5) Turn printers off when not in use, do not keep them in standby mode.
Allison

42. 6) Remember: When a light is on, phantom load is present.
Take Home Messages
6) Remember: When a light is on, phantom load is present.
Allison

43. Summary of Research 5.5% of UW-Madison residence hall electricity
Oregon University: 33%
Humboldt State University: 5-23%
$50,000 per year
Steps can be taken to reduce phantom load
Allison

45. Many thanks to… Amy & Angela (course supervisors)
Mike Henry (mentor, UW Housing)
Scott Schuetter (Energy Center of Wisconsin)
Allison

46. Questions?
Allison