Enlightening Students On Energy Conservation

Rising energy prices is a big ticket not only for households, but also for educational institutions. According to U.S Department of Energy, the highest expense of schools is energy. This means that a combined effort is required, and it’s important for teachers to start teaching their students on how to save energy and contribute towards a sustainable future.

Students should not be limited to tips that allow them to make efforts to save energy at schools. They can also enlighten students so they can reduce energy consumption at their homes as well, which in turn will also decrease their utility bills and overall energy consumption.

Students can even look up energy providers like Alberta and others across the states to compare different companies which will help them to take control over their bills.

A lot of information on how to save energy along with other tips is present in forum discussions and social media as well. Such companies may not give out all information in unofficial blog related posts. The Alberta Energy Providers network looks to educate consumers, residents of the area can even visit this website for cheaper utility rates or to compare companies (an industry that is not always known for offering options).

Involving Students

According to Natural Resources Defense Council, power plants are used extensively to generate greenhouse gases. Most of the electricity generated in US is from power plants, so energy consumption in a high amount not only leads to acid raid, but also contributes to smog that’s harmful to human health.

3 Basic Tips To Conserve Energy In The Classroom

1. Ask Students To Turn Off Gadgets During Class

Regardless of the teaching style you’re using for your class in this century, politely ask students to switch off their devices such as iPads and laptops when they’re not being used. Computers when left powered on can consume an annual electricity of 1,000 kilowatts.

It may also be a possibility that computers need to be used and left inactive at intervals. In this case, the preferences can be changed to place the computer to sleep if there’s inactivity for 10 minutes. The sleep mode is quite different from screensaver mode, as the latter doesn’t contribute to energy savings.

2. Switch Off The Lights!

Schools and other institutes waste a lot of energy by leaving the lights on for most of the day. Students can be asked to switch off lights whenever they leave their classroom of science experiment room.

Furthermore, you try to utilize the natural light and keep lights to minimum during the first part of the day. You can also open up the class window if there’s one to allow the light to beautifully settle on the classroom. This won’t be possible though if you’re teaching classes at night.

3. Have Students Analyze Energy Saving Potential

Start making student teams and assign them the responsibility of monitoring energy consumption.

A school-based program was started in California that involved student teams and energy patrolling, and the end result was that the school was able to reduce currently energy expenses by 33%. Teaching a few students and asking them to patrol energy consumption may get the message across to other students as well.

Saving energy will always require a dual effort from students as well as teachers. By teaching students of energy saving through the tips mentioned above, you’ll be able to reduce energy consumption of your institute and your students will be able to reduce their energy bills.

Update: Through twitter, a custodian also let us know his top tip for conserving energy: close the windows at the end of the day. Teachers, you’re on notice.

Image attribution flickr user antonfomkin