Energy Auditing for Theaters

So I've been absent for a while. It's an unfortunate truth that taking time out to examine a set of 'best practices' for theatre is often complicated by spending all this time doing theatre... *sigh*

But enough excuses. I do have some exciting news to share. Some of the exact details still have to be ironed out, but it looks as if the energy auditing program of the John Van Duzer Auditorium, the main stage for Humbold State's Department of Theatre, will become a reality.

To give some background on this project, this is part of an on-going effort of myself and other students, faculty and staff from the department to update our stage lighting system and reduce our energy consumption. To this end, we are attempting to integrate long-range energy auditing into the space. The intent is not only will this data help in implementing our own energy solutions, but that this project may also be helpful in providing information to other theatre companies that are also interested in monitoring their energy consumption.

The above-average complexity of the electrical system in the JVD (typical of many playhouses) creates unique challenges for energy monitoring. Because of this, we've started to create partnerships with Green Campus, a student-run energy conservation group, and the Redwood Coast Energy Authority. The hope is that within the next couple weeks, we will be able to have a consultation with a professional from the Authority, which will be an open event to students from Green Campus as well as students and faculty from our own department. The end result will hopefully be a plan for moving forward with an actual energy auditing program. I'll be sure to update this site as this project continues.