University of Findlay operates two student houses that receive more than 70 percent of their power from alternative energy sources. Established in 2011 through a grant from BP to UF's Environment, Health, Safety, and Sustainability Program, the houses receive power from solar panels and a wind turbine located on the property.
Six students live in each house with the "girls" house competing against the "boys," to see who can cut traditional power usage the most. A meter logs how much power each house is using and this data is recorded and reported back to the grant funder.
Now in their third year as a student project, UF's "green" houses have made the entire student population more environmentally aware. The small wind turbine can be seen from Findlay's North Main Street and also serves as a reminder to the community to decrease its reliance on fossil fuels.