Content Area

Science

Grade/Age

Grades 3–8

Tags

Energy, energy conservation, energy efficiency, school energy audit

Learner Outcomes

Understand how energy is used in the school

Understand ways to conserve energy in the school

Understand the financial and environmental implications of energy use and conservation

Colorado Academic Standards

Physical Science 4.1.1 Energy comes in many forms such as light, heat, sound, magnetic, chemical, and electrical. 8.1.2 There are different forms of energy, and those forms of energy can be changed from one form to another - but total energy is conserved.

Success Indicators

Students can: Accurately use tools and

record data Gather, analyze, and interpret

data to make decisions on energy usage

The Energy in the Room

BACKGROUND Using energy has environmental and financial implications that are often overlooked. Youth will compare the energy used in 2 or more rooms/classrooms to discover ways in which energy is used and can be conserved. The success of this activity depends on your ability to show how the materials should be used, show how data should be recorded, and guide youth to understand key vocabulary terms and how they apply to the activity. Use the “How to Use” pages to get comfortable using the power monitor, flicker checker, and lux meter. You can also watch videos on how to use the flicker checker, lux meter, and power monitor. Review the worksheet to get comfortable guiding youth through data recording and determine if you want the groups to record only the most basic data in blue or all of the information asked for on the worksheets. Also familiarize yourself with the vocabulary terms listed on the next page. Once you are comfortable with these fundamentals, some key points about how energy is used and saved in a school setting can be helpful. In general, schools in Colorado will use most of their electricity for lighting, cooling, and appliances. They will use the vast majority of their natural gas for space heating and some for water heating and cooking. Youth will not be able to measure energy used for cooling, heating, or cooking in this activity so will be missing some significant ‘energy hogs.’ On the other hand, they will be focusing on areas in which there is potential low-hanging fruit for energy conservation and efficiency. Low-hanging fruit for energy conservation and efficiency are listed on the door hangers provided and include turning off lights (conservation), unplugging appliances with phantom loads (conservation), programming thermostats (conservation), and using more efficient lighting (efficiency). While younger children may simply be able to get a sense of how energy is used in a school and list ideas to save energy, older youth may be able to actually calculate energy use and cost on a room-by-room and/or school-wide basis by filling out the worksheets in full. You may extend the activity by discussing some of the environmental implications of different electricity fuel sources. Coal, at 66% of Colorado’s electricity generation, requires regular mining, processing, combustion (which pollutes), and water use. It is non-renewable. Natural gas (20%) is similar but emits fewer pollutants. Wind (11%) requires raw materials for turbine construction but only wind for fuel. It is a renewable resource. Hydropower (3%) requires a water source and raw materials for construction of a turbine, dam and/or diversion. It is renewable. Solar (<1%) requires raw materials but only sun for fuel. It is renewable. Biomass requires forest or agricultural raw materials (which may also have inputs), processing, combustion (which pollutes), and water use. It is renewable. Each energy source also requires land.

2

4-H Life Skills

Wise Use of Resources Critical Thinking 4-H SET Abilities Compare/Contrast Collect Data Evaluate Use Tools

Time Needed

40-60 minutes

Materials

For Intro Activity 1 hand crank generator 1 bulb socket 1 incandescent or halogen

bulb 1 equivalent LED bulb (i.e. a

“60 watt equivalent”) For Activity: 3 power monitors 3 flicker checkers 3 lux meters Worksheets for each group Door hangers Optional: Stickers or post-it notes CSU Extension DIY home

energy audit refrigerator magnets

Vocabulary Watt: a unit of electrical power Kilowatt-hour (kWh): a unit of electrical energy equivalent to 1,000 watts used for 1 hour Lux: a measure of illuminance equivalent to 1 lumen per square meter Phantom energy/load: energy used by appliances after they are turned off Energy efficiency: using less energy to accomplish the same amount of work Energy conservation: using less energy by requiring less work

2

OPENING QUESTIONS

1. What are some things you know about how energy is used? 2. How do we use energy in the school? 3. Why is energy conservation and efficiency important?

EXPERIENCE

Intro Activity: Illustrate the concept of energy efficiency as follows:

Plug the bulb socket into the hand crank generator Screw in the incandescent/halogen bulb Ask for a volunteer to turn the crank in order to light the bulb Repeat this with the LED

It may be fun to ask for a stronger volunteer to crank the incandescent/halogen and a less strong volunteer to crank the LED, as the LED will be much easier to light. Main Activity: Discuss the difference between energy conservation and efficiency. Explain that during this activity youth will look for both types of opportunities. Divide the larger group into 6-9 smaller groups of 2-4 youth as follows:

2-3 Appliances groups 2-3 Lighting groups 2-3 Other groups

One group of each type (Appliances, Lighting, Other) can audit 1 or more rooms. One option is to switch groups after each group has audited one room. Explain the activities and hand out appropriate items and worksheets. On the worksheet, groups should fill out columns in blue to ensure that the most basic data is collected. The information asked for in other columns is for an enhancement of the activity. The groups will conduct activities as follows: Appliance groups. These groups will use a power monitor and the Appliance Group worksheet. To conduct your audit, go to a room/classroom that contains ap-pliances. For your audit, follow these steps.

Plug the power monitor into an outlet. Plug an appliance into the power monitor. Record data in the worksheet. Optional: use a sticker/post-it note to label each appliance with the number of

watts it uses when ‘on’ and/or the estimated cost to run that appliance for 1 hour.

Lighting groups. These groups will use two items: a flicker checker and a lux meter. There are two worksheets for recording data. To conduct your audit, follow these steps.

3

3

Flicker Checker With the lights on in a room, spin the flicker checker under some or all light

fixtures. If the flicker checker rings all spin the same way, estimate that a light fixture

uses 75 watts of electricity. If the flicker checker rings spin in opposite directions and are checkered, estimate that a light fixture uses 100 watts of electricity.

If there are other non-fluorescent bulbs in the room, look at the bulb itself to determine how many watts it uses. Be careful, it might be hot!

Record data in the worksheet. Lux Meter

Remove the cover from the lux meter. Place the lux meter on a desk or table where light is needed (i.e. to read, use a

computer, etc.). Switch the lux meter to “On.” Record data in the worksheet.

Other groups. These groups will use the door hanger checklists to look for and record opportunities for energy efficiency and conservation. To conduct your audit for a room, you will observe the items on the checklist as well as ask questions of the Appliances and Lighting groups. You will look for these items:

Are computers OFF/ or in SLEEP mode? Are computer monitors OFF? Are smart boards OFF or in SLEEP mode? Ask the Appliances group, are other appliances unplugged if they use “phantom

energy?” Are the lights OFF when no one is in the room? Ask the Lighting group, are the lights energy efficient? Ask the Lighting group, is the room using just the amount of light it needs? Is the thermostat programmable? Are the heating/cooling vents free of obstructions?

Are personal mini-refrigerators or space heaters in use? When the groups complete their activities, bring them back together to discuss their experience using the following questions.

SHARE

Each group shares their results with one another. Room-by-room results can be compared in order to understand why one room may use more energy than another. How did your group work together to read the instruments and collect the data? What part of the activity was the most difficult to do? What surprised you about some of your findings? PROCESS Make connections between what was found in each room and opportunities for energy conservation and efficiency. Which room(s) were using the most power? What information do you need to know about which room(s) use the most energy?

(Hours used.) What did you learn about energy use through this activity? Why is it important to know how much energy is used? What are some opportunities for conservation? Efficiency?

Enhance for older students:

Have groups fill in the worksheets completely in order to accurately calculate the potential power, energy, and cost of energy for each room.

Room-by-room results can be added together to estimate power, energy, and cost for entire portions of the school or for the entire school.

Discuss how the energy is actually provided to the school: is it from coal: what are the fuel sources used to generate electricity in Colorado?

(As of 2014:)

66% coal

20% natural gas

11% wind

3% hydropower

<1% solar, biomass

What are the environmental implications of using different energy sources?

How would you like to see our electricity fuel mix change?

Simplify for younger students:

Guide the youth through conducting the hands-on appliance, lighting, and other activities while filling out the door hanger with them for each room.

Only ask the groups to fill out the blue columns of worksheets .

Colorado State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Colorado counties cooperating. CSU Extension programs are available to all without discrimination. No endorsement of products mentioned is intended nor is criticism implied of products not mentioned. © Colorado State University Extension. 9/15. www.ext.colostate.edu

4

GENERALIZE Schools spend more money on energy than on textbooks and computers combined. How can schools be better at energy conservation? Would it save the school

money? What could be the environmental benefits of energy conservation? How does what you learned relate to other parts of your life? What can you do to conserve energy at home? TERM AND CONCEPT DISCOVERY Be sure that the concepts energy efficiency and conservation have been introduced or discovered by the youth. The goal is to have the youth develop SET concepts through their exploration and define terms using their own words. APPLY How can you use what you learned in your own life? How might this activity change your thinking about energy efficiency and

conservation? What will you try to do differently as you use energy? Ideas: Form a green team. Appoint a weekly or monthly energy lead/energy hero to take the lead on energy

conservation in the room. Conduct an energy audit for each room in the school and present results at a

school-wide meeting. If available for older youth, bring home a CSU Extension energy magnet and scan

the QR code to look for opportunities to conserve energy at home.

Authors Cary Weiner, Extension Specialist, Energy, CSU Extension Annette Haas, Extension Specialist, 4-H Youth Development, STEM & K-12, CSU Extension Christy Fitzpatrick, Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development & Consumer Science, Chaffee County, CSU Extension

Find more lessons and resources at the Colorado 4-H STEM and K-12 website: http://www.4hstemk12.colostate.edu/

References

CSU Extension, Clean Energy Curriculum for Colorado Middle and High Schools, http://www.ext.colostate.edu/energy/k12-curr.html National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project, “School Energy Survey”, http://www.need.org/ Julie North, Natural and Renewable Resources Coordinator, Aurora (CO) Public Schools

CAREER CONNECTION

It’s important for youth to see the possibility of a STEM career in their future. You can help them identify such careers, role models and pathways to get there. Connect a STEM career to the activities in this lesson by asking the students these questions:

Name some careers where people do the types of activities we did today. (be sure careers in all levels of education and training are named)

Energy auditor Energy manager Green product vendor

Who do you know who has a similar career? Are any of these people like you?

What would you need to do to prepare for this career? (school classes; technical school or college; experience)

Have students draw pictures or role play the various careers named. For more information on career exploration for Colorado students, visit www.collegeincolorado.org Visit www.click2sciencepd.org for resources to help you engage students in STEM learning experiences.

Pilot 9/2015

How to Use: Flicker Checker A fluorescent bulb produces light by passing an electric current through a gas using a ballast. The ballast is an electromagnet that can produce a large voltage between the two parts. It is this voltage that gives the electrons of the gas molecules the energy inside the tube. A magnetic ballast has an iron ring wrapped with hundreds of turns of wire. The current from the electrical outlet runs through the wire in the ballast. The wire also is a resistor to some degree, so there is some heat produced. There is also a little heat given off by the gas. A fluorescent bulb with a magnetic ballast converts about 40 percent of the electricity into light and 60 percent into heat. An electronic ballast has a microchip, like that found in a computer, instead of the coils of wire. This ballast is about 30 percent more efficient in turning electrical energy into light than a magnetic ballast. Some heat is produced in the gas, but not in the ballast itself. The reason that the Flicker Checker can tell the difference between the magnetic and electronic ballasts is because of the way the current is delivered to the gas. In any outlet in the United States that is powered by an electric company, the electricity is sent as alternating current— it turns on and off 60 times each second. Because the light with the magnetic ballast has wires attached to the outlet, it also turns on and off 60 times per second. The microchip in the electronic ballast can change that frequency. Light bulbs with electronic ballasts are made to turn on and off between 10,000 and 20,000 times each second. Using the Flicker Checker Spin the black and white Flicker Checker on a flat surface located beneath your overhead fluorescent light and away from direct, natural light. Any tabletop should do. If you see smooth, grey rings on the Flicker Checker, the fluorescent fixture contains an electronic ballast. If you see a checkered pattern with hints of color that move from ring to ring, the fixture contains a magnetic ballast. Other indicators of magnetic ballasts; a flickering effect, a buzzing sound and poor quality light. This suggests you have lighting that wastes energy.

From: National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project – www.need.org

Flicker checking showing the checkered pattern typical of magnetic ballasts

Example of a flicker checker showing smooth grey rings typical of electronic ballasts

Flicker Checker

5

How to Use: Lux Meter A lux meter is a device used to measure the amount of illuminance in a space, whether natural or artificial. Because using artificial light takes energy, when we provide more light to a space than is needed, we waste energy. We can use lux/light meters to measure how much light we have in a space at a given time and then we can compare our measurements to recommended levels to see if we are wasting energy. Light can be measured in units such as footcandles, lumens, and lux. One footcandle is the amount of light one candle provides as measured one foot away from the source. In subtle contrast, one lumen is the entire amount of light present in a one foot sphere around a candle. One lux equals one lumen per square meter. One footcandle equals 10.76 lux. Below are some commonly accepted light levels for different parts of a school. (Note that these levels are lower than recommendations made by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.): To use your lux meter: 1. Remove the cover over the measuring device. 2. Turn the meter to the “on” position. 3. Place the meter where light is desired for a given space. For example, light measurements in places like

classrooms and offices are usually taken on desks and work stations since that is where the light is needed. 4. Be sure to not hover over the measuring device when trying to taking a measurement as this can artificially

lower light level readings. 5. The meter will then display the light level in a unit such as lux. 6. Adjust the “range” switch as necessary (unlikely for school settings) so that no leading zeroes appear in the

display. The meter reading can then be compared to the suggested levels above to see if a space has more or less light than needed. If more light is being provided than suggested levels above, consider “delamping”, or removing lamps from the space until the suggested light level is reached.

AREA FOOTCANDLES LUX

Hallways 15 fc 161.4

Classrooms 35-40 fc 376.6 – 430.4

Offices 40-50 fc 430.4 – 538.0

The light at this workstation is measured where reading commonly takes place. This meter displays the

light level in lux on the digital screen.

Lux Meter

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How to Use: Power Monitor Power monitors have various functions that allow you to check different aspects of electricity usage. For testing energy use, the most important ones are Watts (W) and kilowatt hours (kWh). The Watts function measures the power drawn by a device, whereas the kWh gives the measure of electricity usage over time. For example, a 1,000 watt electric heater running for one hour will use one kWh of electricity. For the purpose of the Conduct a School Energy Audit lesson, the Watts function can be accessed on a Kill-a-Watt EZ power monitor by: 1. plugging the monitor into an electrical outlet 2. plugging an appliance into the monitor 3. hitting the “Up” button four times until the “Watt” function is displayed. This can be done both when the appliance is turned on and when it is off (to measure “phantom loads.”) Many power monitors also allow for electricity use to be converted into cost. While a default value (i.e. $0.10 per kWh) may be pre-entered on a power monitor, monitor users should enter the rate they are charged by their local utility to get the most accurate cost estimates from the monitor. Functions of less relevance for energy efficiency include Volts (your reading should be close to 120.0, the standard voltage in US electrical outlets), Amps (the measure of the flow rate of electric current), and HZ/PF (60 hertz cycles per second is the standard for alternating current in US electrical outlets). Special cases Some appliances such as fans, space heaters, and hair dryers have multiple settings. Other appliances may have large fluctuations in their draws when actively on. For example, a hair dryer ranged from 240 to 1,000 watts when on high. In these cases, feel free to use an estimate of the average draw at a given time for the activity. Still other appliances have such a low draw that they may not immediately register. These may include LED nightlights and carbon monoxide detectors. Some appliances such as computers and printers use significantly different amounts of energy when “on” depending on whether they are actively “on” or passively “on.” Computers are actively “on” when being used or not in sleep mode. Printers are actively on when printing, not standing by. It is best to capture the cycling of these active and passive stages over a representative period of time as is done with refrigerators and water heaters. A less accurate means of calculating wattage when “on” would be to record the most common wattage (active or passive) or take the average of the active and passive wattages if they are not too far apart.

Power Monitor

7

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A 4-H Energy Team stopped by.

Here’s what we found.

Yes No [ ] [ ] Computers OFF/SLEEP MODE [ ] [ ] Computers monitors OFF [ ] [ ] Smart boards OFF/SLEEP MODE [ ] [ ] Other appliances unplugged if they use

“phantom electricity” (ask Appliances group)

[ ] [ ] Lights OFF [ ] [ ] Lights energy efficient (ask Lighting group) [ ] [ ] Room doesn’t have more light than

needed (ask Lighting group) [ ] [ ] Thermostat programmable [ ] [ ] Heating/cooling vents free of

obstructions (not blocked) [ ] [ ] Personal mini-refrigerators or space

heaters not in use NOTES: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO REDUCE ENERGY USE!

A 4-H Energy Team stopped by.

Here’s what we found.

Yes No [ ] [ ] Computers OFF/SLEEP MODE [ ] [ ] Computers monitors OFF [ ] [ ] Smart boards OFF/SLEEP MODE [ ] [ ] Other appliances unplugged if they use

“phantom electricity” (ask Appliances group)

[ ] [ ] Lights OFF [ ] [ ] Lights energy efficient (ask Lighting group) [ ] [ ] Room doesn’t have more light than

needed (ask Lighting group) [ ] [ ] Thermostat programmable [ ] [ ] Heating/cooling vents free of

obstructions (not blocked) [ ] [ ] Personal mini-refrigerators or space

heaters not in use NOTES: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO REDUCE ENERGY USE!