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Macalester College
EcoHouse
St. Paul, MN 55105
Comments & questions to:
ecohouse@macalester.edu

Student Projects

    
EcoHouse Zero Waste by Camille Erickson '14, Spring 2012 - Camille Erickson sorted and weighed all the waste and recycling produced at the EcoHouse during the Spring Semester 2012 to heighten awareness and create sustainable habits around waste reduction in the house.  Throughout the study, the residents sought to reduce waste going to a landfill by recycling, reusing, or composting.  By tracking the trash produced in the house qualitatively and quantitatively each week, this study tracked the progress and challenges of waste reduction. She found that an average of 13% of the total amount of recyclables and waste was sent to the landfill and an average amount of 0.29 pounds of waste/recyclables was produced by each person living in the house per day (4.21 pounds less than the national average). The project also includes recommendations for future waste projects and resources for college students to make reducing their waste easier.

Energy Efficiency:  Energy Use of the EcoHouse by Ben Francis, January 2011 - The goal of this project was to determine how much energy the Eco> House saves. To do this I analyzed the energy use of the Eco House over the past three years. I also used data from the Japanese House in an attempt to establish a base case. Analysis was broken into the two types of energy, natural gas and electricity. I found that the Eco House uses 57% of the natural gas that the Japanese House uses. Because the two houses are not identical it is impossible to determine exactly how much natural gas the retro fit of the Eco House saved. When analyzing electricity I was unable to create a statistically significant model. This is because the majority of electricity use depends on user habits. The electricity use of the Eco House appears to be lower, but this may simply be because the residents are more concerned with saving energy. It is impossible to know how much electricity the retro fitting of the Eco House saved without comparing each individual appliance.

Fostering Sustainability in the Kitchen:  A Mac-Groveland Guide to Conscious Communal Eating by Zoe Hastings, October 2010

School Curriculum by Annie Pasbrig, Fall 2008 - During the Fall 2008 semester, Annie developed educational materials for middle school and elementary school age children for use during visits to the Macalester campus.

Energy Monitoring System by David Schmoeller, Fall 2008 - During the Fall 2008 semester, David worked with outside companies in order to get an energy monitoring system installed in the Ecohouse.  Currently, he is working closely with Trane - the company who provides energy monitoring for the campus center and other areas on campus – to get something finalized.  Ideally, the information gained from such a system would provide helpful feedback to current and future residents about how their behaviors effect energy consumption.  Furthermore, the data could provide a useful tool for classrooms and other community members to see what habits are most effective in living sustainably.

Macalester College · 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105  USA · 651-696-6000
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