By Randall Mah
When Byron Erath is the last one home at night, he often finds all of the lights on and the air conditioning operating at full blast when all of his roommates are asleep.
'I get upset because I am paying for something that others waste,' said Erath, 24, a senior from Yakima, Wash., majoring in mechanical engineering.
Conserving power has been re-emphasized recently because of the California energy crisis. Mary DeLaMare-Schaefer, marketing director at Provo City Power, said students can conserve energy in multiple ways.
Julie Hardy, a senior from Tremonton, Box Elder County, majoring in industrial design lived by herself during spring term, but when a roommate moved in for summer term, her energy bill increased by $60.
After speaking with her roommate, Hardy found that her roommate would leave her curling iron, computer and other small appliances on as well as the air conditioner when no one was home.
'Living with others causes a multiple use problem,' DeLaMare-Schaefer said. A multiple use problem is when more than one person lives in a single dwelling, she said.
An example of a multiple use problem is when one person has their bedroom window open and his or her roommate turns on the heat or air conditioning.
Students, unlike families, experience the multiple use problem more, DeLaMare-Schaefer said.
'In a typical family you have parents who know what is going on with family members'' schedules and activities in the home,' she said. 'You may not have that in a student situation when everyone goes their separate ways.'
'As parents, we know exactly where our children are so we can monitor which areas of the home we can turn off,' said Aaron Stites, 24, a senior from Kennewick, Wash., majoring in Chinese. 'Before I was married, roommates would wash and dry a single pair socks with nothing else in the load of laundry,' he said.
According to Utah Power, an electric clothes dryer uses 23 kilowatts per hour. One kilowatt-hour will run a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours.
DeLaMare-Scahefer said another reason students do not conserve electricity is because they are renters and do not desire to invest in energy conserving devices.
A programmable thermostat can help to conserve energy because it can be instructed to turn off and on at certain times, she said. DeLaMare-Scahefer encourages renters to discuss installing an electronic thermostat because they save energy, are relatively inexpensive and easy to install.
According to the United States Department of Energy''s Energy Savers guide, a programmable thermostat can save as much as 10 percent of the heating and cooling bill. The programmable thermostat does this by providing the ability to automatically adjust the temperature when no one home or at night.
Although students usually do not invest in energy conserving devices, there are other ways students can save electricity and money.
According to the DOE, 44 percent of the utility bill goes for heating and cooling.
Charlie Wargo, 25, a senior, from Bristol, Conn., majoring in psychology has his own methods to save energy.
'I see a drastic difference in energy use when I turn the air conditioner off when it cools off in the evening and use it sparingly,' Wargo said.
However, President Donavan Bagshaw of Artic Air, a heating and cooling company, said he disagrees with Wargo''s method.
'The myth of turning off the air-conditioner when no one is at home is not true,' Bagshaw said.
'It is easier to maintain than obtain a temperature,' he said.
'If you shut the air conditioning off when you leave, when you get home, all the furniture and walls have absorbed the high temperature, causing the air conditioner to work harder,' he said.
Bagshaw recommends closing all the windows when using the air conditioner, and never waiting for it to get warm to turn on the air conditioner.
Another way to conserve energy is to consider the lighting fixtures and needs of the apartment.
According to the DOE, replacing just one-fourth of the lights in high-use areas with fluorescents will result in a savings of 50 percent of the lighting energy bill.
'Conserving energy is part of life,' said Kelly Shirk, 21, a senior from Blackfoot, Idaho, majoring in communications. 'I have to save every penny and being smart by using efficient light bulbs is one way I can do that.'