Chris Ruth
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 275 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO165minutesspent outdoors
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UP TO165minutesnot spent in front of a screen
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UP TO20plastic bottlesnot sent to the landfill
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UP TO11plastic strawsnot sent to the landfill
Chris's actions
Climate
Building Energy Savings
I will make no-charge changes each day to a customer's building automation system to reduce energy usage for their building.
Oceans
Say No to Plastic Straws
An estimated 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles have been found with plastics in their stomachs. When marine wildlife ingest plastic, they have a 50% mortality rate. By asking for no straw when placing a drink order, I will keep 1 plastic straw(s) of out of the ocean each day.
Forests
Use Reusable Towels at Home and Work
I will not use any disposable paper towels for cleaning spills and drying dishes while at home or at work.
People
Spend Time Outside
I will replace 15 minute(s) each day typically spent inside (computer time, watching television, etc.) with quality time outside that follows CDC guidelines for preventing disease spread.
Fresh Water
Use a Reusable Water Bottle
I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 1 disposable plastic bottle(s) a day.
Participant Feed
Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.
To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?
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Chris Ruth 4/14/2020 10:41 AMToday I found a customer's Outside Air Damper locked closed using software. This prevents their HVAC system from using the cold air available outside to cool the building. instead, the system has to run mechanical equipment for cooling that is not currently needed, thus wasting energy. I corrected the issue to allow for "free cooling" to occur.-
Chris Ruth 4/15/2020 5:33 PMMost building automation systems have the ability to manually adjust equipment in order to test its functionality. Typically to test this, we will do inspections of the equipment, but it can be done pretty easily. Someone will need to watch the dampers at the air conditioning unit while manually opening/closing them. Watching them move (or travel) will let you know they are working properly. If you have an automation system and would like some guidance, I would be happy to help! -
Jill Jonas 4/15/2020 5:06 PMInteresting. How can I make sure I don't have that problem?
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Chris Ruth 4/14/2020 10:39 AMI realized that I wasn't don't much shopping so I dropped my reusable bag challenge. Instead, I set up a Climate Challenge for Building Automation Systems. My goal here is to make energy saving changes for customers on new and existing jobs to help reduce energy consumption. These changes will be done on my time and not billed to the customers. Win-Win!-
Jill Jonas 4/15/2020 5:05 PMWow! That is so awesome. Cool idea.
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Chris Ruth 4/01/2020 5:17 AMMy most challenging challenge is going to be reducing the amount of paper towels I use. I tend to rip off a paper towel every time something is wet... hands, dishes, counter tops, etc. It is a very bad habit. To help, I got some towels to keep in my desk at work. What is going to be your most challenging challenge?
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Lisa Young 4/02/2020 8:39 AMI've been working on this, too, for a while now. It's a hard habit to break, but the current shortage of paper products is a good motivator! 😀 Keeping reusable towels and washcloths within reach has been very helpful.
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Chris Ruth 4/01/2020 5:15 AMToday is Day 1! Good luck and Go Team! -
Chris Ruth 3/19/2020 7:19 PMI set 4 daily challenges that all revolve around reducing waste! Also, a challenge to spend more time outside. Hopefully it will stop raining before April! :-)
