Published in cooperation with Overstappen.nl

Students from the city of Deventer took the lead in this year’s Student Energy Race. They pulled out all the stops to achieve this: turning the heat lower or off, putting on warm jumpers, and getting warmed up at somebody else’s heater. During the Student Energy Race, nineteen student houses throughout the Netherlands try to save as much energy as possible. There are currently no participants from Groningen. Maybe they will next year?

The Student Energy Race

Students from Leiden, Deventer, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Delft, Nijmegen and Utrecht participated in this competition, that took 5 months. The race started in November, so it was pretty chilly in the student homes, especially in the last months. This year, nineteen houses take part, which is a lot more than the nine from last year. Up till now, the students from Deventer took the lead with almost 60% of saved energy. How did they manage this, especially with February’s frost?

What measures do the students take?

A student from Deventer said that it wasn’t a big change. They’ve always lived in an energy-conscious way: “One of us, for example, has a side job at a green energy provider”. Their participation just gives them an extra drive to live even more economically.

Last summer, they took out the gas heater in exchange for an energy-efficient central heating system. They also cook together, often for multiple days at once. They also pay attention to things like only turning on the dishwasher if it’s full. The heating is rarely on: the students prefer to put on a warm coat.

The competition ended last week, but the frost gave the students some harsh months. According to one of the participants, there’s only one solution: “We try to spend as much time as possible outside of our own home”. During the competition, prizes can be won every month, such as vouchers for LED lights or free entrance to an amusement park for all residents. The first prize has not been announced yet.

Energy saving, or saving on energy?

You can save energy for reasons of sustainability, but also because you want to cut your energy bill. If your reason is the latter, you can save hundreds of euros per year by switching over from your energy provider. Using the tool energie vergelijken at EasySwitch, you have an overview of the cheapest plans in no time, and as you might expect from the name, switching is very easy! Comparing different gas water licht plans is still one of the best ways to cut down on your structural expenses.