Missouri State University
IN-3: Innovation 3

In September 2013, the University launched an online Energy Dashboard, or Green Kiosk. The main objective of the Green Kiosk is to educate the Missouri State University campus community regarding building-specific utility consumption, opportunities for efficiency improvements, and promotion of sustainability and environmental awareness. The dashboard is an educational platform that utilizes data from MSU’s building automation system (BAS) as well as other metered and connected systems. It shows the consumption of electricity, water, natural gas and steam (when available) and is updated every 15 minutes. The home page of the kiosk displays the Energy Monster video which highlights common behaviors that waste electricity and then encourages viewers to make simple changes in order to reduce their energy use on campus and at home. The dashboard displays and graphs utility/metering consumption data including electricity, CO2, steam, chilled water and water usage between buildings, across time periods and in various units. In addition to actual metered data in absolute and graphed form, the Green Kiosk provides everyday equivalents, such as, how many cups of coffee could be purchased with the savings. It also provides tips to reduce usage, as well as information about how to get involved in sustainability efforts on campus.

This project has immeasurable educational benefits and is heavily used each semester during energy conservation competitions. The energy dashboard is a useful, interactive tool for the campus community, as a way to highlight energy awareness and their efficiency efforts, especially for programs such as the energy competitions between buildings. Green Teams and Building Coordinators also use them during energy competitions to see how they compare to other buildings and to encourage and demonstrate energy conservation to their peers. This platform serves several functions – education for the campus community about current energy use on campus as well as provide statistical information for Facilities and sustainability projects to target specific buildings for energy efficiency improvements. Due to the nature of the data, the dashboard can show inefficiencies based not only on location, but also time of day. This allows for instant feedback and quick action to reduce energy use and save the university money. There is an estimated 7-10% reduction in consumption of water and energy as a result of this project.