power down energy survey results 2016...power down energy survey results 2016 overview the 2016...

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To learn more about Penn’s sustainability initiatives, visit www.sustainability.upenn.edu

Power Down Energy Survey Results 2016

Overview

The 2016 Power Down Challenge Energy Survey provides an overview of campus attitudes,

knowledge, and behaviors regarding energy-related issues at Penn. The survey is divided into

three parts: general behaviors and attitudes, specific energy consumption habits, and additional

analyses. The survey was created using Qualtrics and was distributed as part of the 2016 Power

Down Challenge (in February 2016) via email to all on-campus students, multiple staff and

faculty listservs, and advertised through other Power Down communications outlets.

This report provides a condensed summary of the results.

Respondents

The survey was completed by 1,703 individuals across Penn’s campus, including students, staff,

and faculty. This constitutes 3.66% of the total campus population, which excluding health staff

totals to 46,521 individuals; the 928 undergraduate student submissions constitute 8.91% of full-

time undergraduates (see http://www.upenn.edu/about/facts). In short, the survey can be viewed

as robust, although we advise caution for the results concerning faculty, given its much smaller

sample size.

Contents

This report is broken down into the follow sections:

Demographic Composites ............................................................................................................... 2

Part I: General Behaviors and Attitudes ......................................................................................... 8

Part II: Specific Energy Consumption Habits ............................................................................... 13

Additional Analyses ...................................................................................................................... 19

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Demographic Composites

Demographic information (out of 1703 total respondents) is broken down into the following:

Affiliation, Age, Participation in environmental activities, Students, Staff, Faculty

A) Affiliation

Affiliation Number Percent

Student 1007 59.1%

Staff 617 36.2%

Faculty 79 4.6%

Total 1703 100.0%

Student

59%

Staff

36%

Faculty

5%

Respondent Demographics - Affiliation

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Demographic Composites (cont’d)

B) Age

Age Number Percent

Under 22 870 51.1%

22 to 29 227 13.3%

30 to 39 167 9.8%

40 to 49 156 9.2%

50+ 283 16.6%

C) Participation in environmental activities

Participate in environmental activities Number Percent

Yes 576 33.8%

No 1127 66.2%

Under

22

51%

22 to 29

13%

30 to 39

10%

40 to 49

9%

50+

17%

Respondent Demographics -

Age

Yes

34%

No

66%

Respondent Demographics -

Participate in

Environmental Activities

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D) Students (out of 1007 total student respondents)

a. Class year

Class Number Percentage

Class of 2016 126 12.5%

Class of 2017 164 16.3%

Class of 2018 251 24.9%

Class of 2019 387 38.4%

Graduate 79 7.8%

Class of 2016 13%

Class of 2017 16%

Class of 2018 25%

Class of 2019 38%

Graduate 8%

Student Demographics - Class Year

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D) Students (out of 1007 total student respondents) (cont’d)

b. School

School Number Percentage

Wharton School 174 15.9%

School of Arts and Sciences 647 59.3%

School of Engineering and Applied Science 191 17.5%

Nursing School 42 3.8%

Annenberg School for Communication 2 0.2%

School of Dental Medicine 3 0.3%

School of Design 5 0.5%

Graduate School of Education 9 0.8%

Law School 5 0.5%

Perelman School of Medicine 5 0.5%

School of Social Policy and Practice 7 0.6%

School of Veterinary Medicine 1 0.1%

Wharton

School

16%

School of Arts and

Sciences

59%

School of

Engineering and

Applied Science

18%

Nursing School

4%

Student Demographics - School

Wharton School

School of Arts and Sciences

School of Engineering and Applied

ScienceNursing School

Annenberg School for

CommunicationSchool of Dental Medicine

School of Design

Graduate School of Education

Law School

Perelman School of Medicine

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D) Students (out of 1007 total student respondents) (cont’d)

c. Housing

Housing Number Percentage

College House 941 93.4%

Off-Campus 64 6.4%

Greek House 2 0.2%

d. Age

Age Number Percentage

Under 22 869 86.3%

22 to 29 128 12.7%

30 to 39 7 0.7%

40 to 49 3 0.3%

50+ 0 0.0%

e. Participate in Environmental Activities

Participate in environmental activities Number Percentage

Yes 281 27.9%

No 726 72.1%

E) Staff (out of total 617 staff respondents)

a. Age


Under 22 1 0.2%

22 to 29 93 15.1%

30 to 39 148 24.0%

40 to 49 143 23.2%

50+ 232 37.6%

b. Participation in environmental activities


Yes 263 42.6%

No 354 57.4%

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F) Faculty (out of total 79 faculty respondents*)

*Five respondents listed their faculty appointment as staff


22 to 29 6 8.1%

30 to 39 12 16.2%

40 to 49 10 13.5%

50+ 51 68.9%

a. Participate in Environmental Activities


Yes 32 43.2%

No 47 63.5%

b. School

School Number Percentage

SAS 37 50.0%

Nursing 25 33.8%

SEAS 1 1.4%

Wharton 0 0.0%

Medicine 6 8.1%

Design 2 2.7%

Annenberg 1 1.4%

Staff 5 6.8%

SAS, 50.0%

Nursing, 33.8%

SEAS, 1.4%

Wharton, 0.0%

Medicine, 8.1%

Design, 2.7%

Annenberg, 1.4% Staff, 6.8%

Faculty Demographics - School

SAS

Nursing

SEAS

Wharton

Medicine

Design

Annenberg

Staff

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Part I: General Behaviors and Attitudes

Part I: General behaviors and attitudes towards energy consumption on Penn's campus

A) Please rate the following items on a scale from 1 (least) to 5 (most):

*Breakdown of these results by demographic

Students

# Question 1 2 3 4 5 Mean

1 How much do you know about ways to

conserve energy? 12 97 329 411 155 3.60

2 How much effort do you make to conserve

energy? 34 177 385 330 77 3.24

3 How much effort do your peers make to

conserve energy? 94 468 347 87 9 2.45

4 How much effort does Penn make to reduce

its carbon footprint? 38 257 464 210 35 2.95

5 How strong is Penn's culture of

sustainability? 60 304 454 150 36 2.80

6 How would you rate Penn's energy

conservation efforts compared to other

universities?

33 151 537 229 56 3.12

Across all Affiliations



conserve energy? 15 131 533 725 296 3.68


energy? 39 222 597 637 204 3.44


conserve energy? 125 654 649 236 36 2.65




sustainability? 78 380 732 381 129 3.06



universities?

63 193 833 469 144 3.26

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Part I: General Behaviors and Attitudes (cont’d)

A) Please rate the following items on a scale from 1 (least) to 5 (most) (cont’d):


Faculty



conserve energy? 2 3 17 33 24 3.94


energy? 5 17 38 19 3.90


conserve energy? 4 14 40 17 4 3.04



5 How strong is Penn’s culture of

sustainability? 5 13 37 17 7 3.10



universities?

5 7 38 21 8 3.25

Staff



conserve energy? 1 31 187 281 117 3.78


energy? 5 40 195 269 108 3.71


conserve energy? 27 172 262 132 23 2.92




sustainability? 13 63 241 214 86 3.48



universities?

25 35 258 219 80 3.48

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B) Are you aware of Penn’s Climate Action Plan?

Choice Student Faculty Staff Total

Yes 26.42% 56.96% 60.29% 40.11%

No 73.58% 43.04% 39.71% 59.89%

C) Are you aware of Penn's Renewable Wind Energy Credit (REC) purchasing

program?

Yes

40%

No

60%

Climate Action Plan

Awareness

Yes

20%

No

80%

REC Awareness

Choice Student Faculty Staff Total

Yes 10.03% 30.38% 34.52% 19.85%

No 89.97% 69.62% 65.48% 80.15%

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D) Please select all factors that influence your energy conservation habits:

*Most common responses for “other” are: future (6), conserve (5), waste (5), thing (4), concern

(4), convenience (3), energy (3), climate (3)

Influence of

friends and

family

17%

Financial savings

27%

Concern for public

health

21%

Concern for the

environment

33%

Other

1%

None of the above

1%

Influence on Energy Habits

Choice Student % Faculty % Staff % Total %

Influence of

friends and

family

539 19.4% 24 10.6% 213 12.6% 776 16.5%

Financial

savings 730 26.3% 59 26.1 492 29.1% 1281 27.3%

Concern for

public

health

581 20.9% 59 26.1% 367 21.7% 1007 21.5%

Concern for

the

environment

898 32.3% 76 33.6% 574 34.0% 1548 33.0%

Other* 15 0.54% 7 3.10% 36 2.13% 58 1.24%

None of the

above 16 0.58% 1 0.44% 7 0.41% 24 0.51%

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E) How would you rate your level of concern about climate change?

Very concerned

39%

Concerned

45%

Neutral

8%

Somewhat

concerned

5%

Not concerned

3%

Concern for Climate Change


Very

concerned 344 34.16% 46 58.23% 275 44.57% 665 39.05%

Concerned 468 46.47% 28 35.44% 271 43.92% 767 45.04%

Neutral 99 9.83% 4 5.06% 39 6.32% 142 8.34%

Somewhat

concerned 72 7.15% 0 0.0% 16 2.59% 88 5.17%

Not

concerned 24 2.38% 1 1.27% 16 2.59% 41 2.41%

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Part II: Specific Energy Consumption Habits

Part II: Specific energy consumption habits

A) How frequently do you engage in the following energy actions at Penn?

Across all affiliations

# Question 1 2 3 4 5 (most) Mean

1 Turn off lights when not in use to

reduce electricity 30 63 214 482 889 4.27

2 Use natural light instead of electricity 84 188 461 567 328 3.53

3 Turn off or unplug appliances when

not in use to reduce electricity 227 336 401 405 257 3.08

4 Use a power strip and turn it off when

not in use to reduce electricity 488 418 338 198 172 2.47

5 Run washing machine when fully

loaded to reduce water consumption 45 55 174 419 729 4.22

6 Use the cold water setting on the

washing machine (often labeled

"bright") to reduce electricity

180 167 240 272 551 3.60

7 Use a drying rack instead of a clothes

dryer to reduce electricity 553 327 269 156 76 2.19

8 Adjust the thermostat to improve

energy efficiency 176 174 355 341 335 3.35

9 Keep windows and doors closed so as

to not waste heat or cooling 70 123 259 456 681 3.98

10 Close window blinds to minimize heat

loss 239 224 317 353 400 3.29

11 Leave a clear space in front of

radiators and vents to increase heat

circulation

173 127 250 361 579 3.70

12 Use the energy-saving mode on

electronic devices to save electricity 201 245 462 409 310 3.23

13 Take the stairs instead of the elevator

to reduce electricity 176 262 415 448 355 3.33

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Part II: Specific Energy Consumption Habits (cont’d)

A) How frequently do you engage in the following energy actions at Penn? (cont’d)


Students


1 Turn off lights when not in use


2 Use natural light instead of

electricity 56 133 279 331 201 3.49

3 Turn off or unplug appliances

when not in use to reduce

electricity

151 243 233 221 145 2.97

4 Use a power strip and turn it off


electricity

287 269 200 105 106 2.46

5 Run washing machine when

fully loaded to reduce water

consumption

27 45 128 291 493 4.20




140 127 137 166 406 3.59

7 Use a drying rack instead of a

clothes dryer to reduce

electricity

436 227 153 90 45 2.03



9 Keep windows and doors closed

so as to not waste heat or

cooling

57 96 178 273 394 3.85

10 Close window blinds to

minimize heat loss 169 159 195 204 249 3.21


radiators and vents to increase

heat circulation

148 110 196 206 304 3.42


electronic devices to save

electricity

148 186 270 203 172 3.07

13 Take the stairs instead of the

elevator to reduce electricity 136 187 236 235 195 3.17

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Faculty





electricity 0 6 23 28 17 3.76



electricity

8 12 20 15 19 3.34



electricity

23 16 10 13 12 2.66



consumption

2 2 10 13 24 4.08




6 6 11 7 21 3.61



electricity

10 15 13 8 4 2.62

8 Adjust the thermostat to

improve energy efficiency 5 2 12 12 33 4.03


so as to not waste heat or

cooling

1 3 10 16 40 4.30





heat circulation

6

5 14 39 4.25



electricity

8 8 18 20 18 3.44



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Staff





electricity 28 49 159 208 110 3.58



electricity

68 81 148 169 93 3.25



electricity

178 133 128 80 54 2.47



consumption

16 8 36 115 212 4.29




34 34 92 99 124 3.64



electricity

107 85 103 58 27 2.51




so as to not waste heat or cooling 12 24 71 167 247 4.18





heat circulation

19 17 49 141 236 4.21



electricity

45 51 174 186 120 3.49



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B) How easy do you find it to reduce your energy consumption at Penn?


Very Easy 48 4.77% 7 8.86% 40 6.48% 95 5.58%

Easy 425 42.20% 24 30.38% 212 34.36% 661 38.81%

Neutral 457 45.38% 29 36.71% 261 42.30% 747 43.86%

Difficult 70 6.95% 16 20.25% 91 14.75% 177 10.39%

Very

Difficult 7 0.70% 3 3.80% 13 2.11% 23 1.35%

C) How often do you consider carbon emissions when choosing a mode of

transportation?


All of the

time 42 4.17% 19 24.05% 53 8.59% 114 6.69%

Often 182 18.07% 28 35.44% 197 31.93% 407 23.90%

Sometimes 365 36.25% 18 22.78% 188 30.47% 571 33.53%

Rarely 292 29.00% 10 12.66% 126 20.42% 428 25.13%

Never 126 12.51% 4 5.06% 53 8.59% 183 10.75%

Influence

of friends

and

family

17%

Financial

savings

27%

Concern

for

public

health

21%

Concern

for env.

33%

Other

1%

None

1%

Influence on Energy Habits

All of

the time

7%

Often

24%

Someti

mes

33%

Rarely

25%

Never

11%

Consideration of Carbon

Emissions for

Transportation

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D) What do you think motivates Penn's administration to conserve energy?


Commitment

to

sustainability

614 60.97% 52 65.82% 435 70.50% 1101 26.40%

Financial

savings 809 80.34% 63 79.75% 523 84.76% 1395 33.45%

Influence of

other

universities

594 58.99% 42 53.16% 257 41.65% 893 21.41%

Influence of

regional

institutions

439 43.59% 26 32.91% 190 30.79% 655 15.71%

Other* 61 6.06% 11 13.92% 40 6.48% 112 2.69%

None of the

above 7 0.70% 1 1.27% 6 0.97% 14 0.34%

*Most common responses for “other” are: students (19), public (18), reputation (13), image (13),

PR (10), pressure (8), good (7), influence (6), perception (4)

Commitment to

sustainability

26%

Financial savings

34%

Influence of

other

universities

21%

Influence of

regional

institutions

16%

Other

3%

None of the

above

0%

Administrative Motivation for Energy Conservation

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Additional Analyses

A) Age vs. Concern for climate change

Concern for climate change increases with age; the most concerned group is aged 40-49

Choice Under 22 22 to 29 30 to 39 40 to 49 50+

Very

concerned 33.10% 42.29% 43.11% 44.87% 49.12%

Concerned 46.90% 45.37% 46.11% 45.51% 38.16%

Concerned or

Very

Concerned*

80.00% 87.67% 89.22% 90.38% 87.28%

Neutral 10.11% 6.17% 7.19% 5.13% 7.07%

Somewhat

concerned 7.59% 3.96% 1.80% 2.56% 2.12%

Not concerned 2.30% 2.20% 1.80% 1.92% 3.53%

*Calculated based on sum of first two answer options, not listed as separate response item

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Under 22 22 to 29 30 to 39 40 to 49 50+

Very Concerned for Climate Climate Change vs.

Age Group

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Additional Analyses (cont’d)

B) Student class year vs. Concern for climate change

Concern for climate change is higher amongst graduate students.

Choice 2016 2017 2018 2019 Graduate Student

Very

concerned 31.75% 29.27% 36.65% 32.04% 50.63%

Concerned 50.00% 49.39% 41.83% 48.32% 40.51%

Concerned or

Very

Concerned*

81.75% 78.66% 78.49% 80.36% 91.14%

Neutral 10.32% 8.54% 11.95% 9.56% 6.33%

Somewhat

concerned 6.35% 10.37% 7.17% 7.49%

Not concerned 1.59% 2.44% 2.39% 2.58% 2.53%

*Calculated based on sum of first two answer options, not listed as separate response item

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

2016 2017 2018 2019 Graduate

Student

Very Concerned for Climate Change vs. Class Year

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C) Student class year vs. Knowledge of Climate Action Plan

Knowledge of Penn's Climate Action Plan increases significantly depending on class

year; after freshman year, students are much more likely to know the plan

Choice 2016 2017 2018 2019 Graduate Student

Yes 33.33% 35.98% 34.26% 15.50% 24.05%

No 66.67% 64.02% 65.74% 84.50% 75.95%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

2016 2017 2018 2019 Graduate

Student

Climate Action Plan Awareness vs. Class Year

Yes

No

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D) Participation in environmental activities vs. Concern for climate change

Concern for climate change increases with participation in environmental activities

Choice Has participated Has not participated

Very concerned 53.13% 31.85%

Concerned 39.76% 47.74%

Very concerned or concerned 92.88% 79.59%

Neutral 4.69% 10.20%

Somewhat concerned 2.08% 6.74%

Not concerned 0.35% 3.46%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Has participated Has not participated

Very Concerned for Climate Change vs.

Environmental Participation

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E) Participation in environmental activities vs. Knowledge of Climate Action Plan

Knowledge of Penn's Climate Action Plan increases significantly with participation in

environmental activities


Yes 61.28% 29.28%

No 38.72% 70.72%

F) Participation in environmental activities vs. Knowledge of REC purchasing

Knowledge of REC purchasing increases with participation in environmental activities


Yes 36.11% 11.54%

No 63.89% 88.46%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

Has

participated

Has not

participated

Climate Action Plan

Awareness vs. Environmental

Participation

Yes

No

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

100.00%

Has

participated

Has not

participated

REC Purchasing Awareness

vs. Environmental

Participation

Yes

No

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G) Concern for climate change vs. Average value across "how frequently do you

engage in the following energy actions at Penn"

As concern for climate change increases, the average value (or the frequency) of energy-

conscious behaviors increases

Concern for climate change Average value

Very Concerned 3.66

Concerned 3.35

Neutral 3.01

Somewhat Concerned 2.97

Not concerned 2.62

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Very Concerned Concerned Neutral Somewhat

Concerned

Not concerned

Frequency of Energy Conservation Habits vs.

Concern for Climate Change

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H) How easy do you find it to conserve energy at Penn vs. Knowledge of Penn's Climate

Action Plan

Those who find it easier to conserve energy at Penn are also more aware of the Climate

Action Plan

Choice Very Easy Easy Neutral Difficult Very Difficult

Yes 58.95% 43.87% 33.60% 45.20% 26.09%

No 41.05% 56.13% 66.40% 54.80% 73.91%

0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00%

Very Easy

Easy

Neutral

Difficult

Very Difficult

Knowledge of Climate Action Plan vs. Difficulty of

Conserving Energy at Penn

No

Yes

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