Shirley Ann Smith Wins Energy Limbo Contest
At a prize-giving presentation at Cathedral Hall on Wednesday evening [Nov 14] the Minister of Environment, Planning and Infrastructure Strategy Marc Bean presented Energy Limbo Contest winner Mrs. Shirley Ann Smith and her family with a $600 travel voucher from C-Travel as the grand prize.
‘Energy Limbo: How Low Can You Go?’ is an energy cutback competition which saw participants compete for the biggest reduction in their electricity use over the course of almost a year. The contest followed the energy usage of 18 participants using real-time energy monitoring devices called The Energy Detective [TED] 5000’s.
Mrs. Smith and her family saved in excess of 38% on their energy bills from last year by simply using the TED meter to better inform their use. They turned off lights and appliances that were not in use, they unplugged those things not in use, and in fact did not make any alterations to anything, except behavior.
“Energy conservation, especially as demonstrated by our winner, is the least expensive way to reduce your energy consumption,” said Minister Bean. “Energy conservation is one of the key elements to reducing the pace of climate change, and during these current economic times, it is more important than ever to reduce everyday household expenditures.”
The overall savings of the contestants was just over 11% on average. The Department of Energy is now seeking contestants for the 2013 contest which will commence on January 1st 2013 and run until November 1st 2013.
Anyone can enter the competition given that they have lived in their home since January 2012. Participants don’t need to own the home in which they reside, but they do need to have their own meter and tenants will need to seek their landlord’s permission to participate.
It should be noted that the Department of Energy will need access to participants’ online BELCO accounts to gauge the kilowatt hours used, the length of billing cycle, and the dates of the billing cycle. All information will be kept confidential and after the contest is over the account information is destroyed and the contestants can then simply change their access codes if they wish.
“Effectively, it’s no different than giving us the paper copies of your bills, but it cuts out the step of having the contestants report, which had caused delays in getting the contestants their interim results,” explained the Director of Energy Jeane Nikolai. “We have to stress that no information will be shared with any other party, not even other contestants.”
To enter Energy Limbo simply email the Department of Energy at energy@gov.bm who will then send you the entry forms and entry requirements. The deadline for entry submissions is December 21st 2012.
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Category: All, Environment
