Feng Weihan (SDE), Giles Ee Wei Sern (FoE), Ho Ren Da (SDE), Isabelle Anastasia Tan Yinn Lyn (FASS), Lim Yun Hui (FASS), Raelyn Lee Yi Ling (SDE)
Academic Advisor: Prof. Adekunle Adeyeye
In 2016, households contributed about 15% of the total energy consumption in Singapore (Energy Marketing Authority, 2016), a marked increase from 9% in 2005 (Low Carbon Singapore, 2011). On the other hand, domestic potable water consumption has only decreased slightly from 49% of total potable water use in 2009 to 45% in 2015, in spite of local policies and campaigns to lower consumption. With these key statistics in mind, and in view of Singapore’s reliance on external sources of energy and power, our team decided to address this problem at the college level. The goal of this project is to reduce electricity and water usage in Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) through SustainaBoard -an electronic display which we will design to primarily feature real-time water and electricity consumption statistics of RVRC residents. We aim to use this device to test if raising awareness of the potential savings consumers can achieve can create the eventual inculcation of long-term sustainable habits. Based on the feedback and results from the pilot, SustainaBoard has the potential to be further improved to include more features. The scope of the project can also be expanded upon in the future through collaboration with the other residential colleges and halls to increase awareness of domestic consumption and to promote sustainable living on campus. Furthermore, this project can look into including the conservation of other non-renewable resources instead of water and electricity alone.
Keywords: Energy, Water, Responsible Consumption, Feedback, Behaviour survey