Indiana University officials hope a new smart phone app will reduce the amount of electricity used on campus.
IU energy analyst Erica Steinfeltt says the app is easy to use.
"The app is set up that it's kind of color coded, there is a green, yellow, red state," Steinfeltt said.
The green represents a low amount of energy use and red represents when students are using more than 31,000 kilowatts—what the university considers a high amount.
IU Physical Plant director Peggy Maschino says the university spends about $24 million a year on electricity and by making students more conscious about how much energy they're using, they could reduce that cost.
"We would be able to do push notifications when the campus is approaching the peak," Maschino said. "When we can do that and get all the building occupants on campus involved in helping us conserve, its my hope that we will be able to shed those peaks, and save money-real money in that way."
Maschino says similar apps have been developed for other business and even individual homes, but right now, most are too expensive for everyday use.