green design lab - PS 33 CHELSEA PREP

Energy Teacher’s Guide

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Your blueprinT for a healThY and Green school

Energy Teacher’s Guide

Your blueprint for a healthy and green school

Green Design Lab™ © Solar One 2011

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AcknowledgmentsAbout Solar One

”Green energy, arts, and education center.” We inspire new Yorkers to become environmen-tally responsible city dwellers. solar one offers innovative programming to K-12 students throughout all 5 boroughs of new York city in the areas of renewable energy, sustainable design, estuarine ecology and environmental art.

The mission of solar one’s education program is to facilitate applied experiential learning opportunities through science, design, art and entrepreneurship. our staff of educators are here to help you make the Green design lab an integral part of your school’s curriculum and learning objectives.

Visit us online log on to our Green design lab dashboard to see our program in action! http://gdl.solar1.org

The Green Design Lab™ © 2011 Solar One - New York, NY Second Edition The Green Design Lab™ is a trademark of Solar One. All rights reserved. Except for Activity Worksheets, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from Solar One. Reproduction of Activity Worksheets is for educational purposes only.

Publisher: Solar One Solar One Green Energy, Arts and Education Center 24-20 FDR Drive, Service Road East New York, NY 10010 Tel. (212) 505 - 6050 www.solar1.org For More Information and to order online: http://gdl.solar1.org Cover image: Huw Williams, Wikimedia Commons

CONTENT & DESIGN Fronsy Thurman Christopher Kennedy Sarah Pidgeon Cassie Thornton Alex Smith BOOK DESIGN Travis Simon REVIEWERS Naima Freitas - City As School High School Adam Schwartz - Academy of Urban Planning HDR Engineering Chris Collins-Solar One Sarah Holloway - Hudson Heights Partners FOUNDING SPONSORS The Green Design Lab™ is generously supported by The Schmidt Family Foundation 11th Hour Project, JC Kellogg Foundation, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and Consolidated Edison Company We would also like to thank our partners, The NYC Department of Education Department of School Facilities MakeMeSustainable Colgate Palmolive

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Table of Contents

Lesson E1 introduction to energy

1 Activity E1

energy – here, There, everywhere!

3

Lesson E2 electricity 101: The basics

5 Activity E2

electro-lab

7

Lesson E3 electricity production and consumption

11 Activity E3a

power plant hook up

12

Activity E3b Wattage Game

16

Lesson E4 electricity investigation: in the classroom

23 Activity E4

classroom energy audit

26

Lesson E5 school energy audit!

29 Activity E5

energy audit

34

Lesson E6 energy awareness campaign

37 Activity E6

energy awareness campaign

38

Lesson E7 introduction to renewable energy

41 Activity E7

diY solar Tracker lab

44

Lesson E8 renewable energy: solar lab i

47 Activity E8

solar design lab

49

Lesson E9 renewable energy: solar lab ii

55 Activity E9

solar usb

57

Lesson E10 Green Tech Times/Wrap up

59 Activity E10

Green Tech Times

60

Vocabulary 61 Resources & additional information

62

Energy UnitThis unit introduces students to conventional methods of energy production, energy infrastructure and its impacts on human health and the environment. Students will investigate the science of electricity as well as energy conservation strategies and forms of renewable energy. Using the school as a learning laboratory, students will explore the concepts of building science and energy efficiency. Students will also consider new technologies and applications through a series of hand-on projects.

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Lesson E1 Intro to Energy: What is Energy?

So what exactly is energy?The word energy goes all the way back to ancient Greece where aristotle used the word energeia to describe work or activiites. energy is the capacity to do work. common forms of energy include motion (kinetic), stored (potential), chemical, light, heat and sound.

depending on the context, energy is discussed in a number of different ways. in physics, for example, energy is a physical quantity of the amount of work exerted by a force. any form of energy can be transformed into another form of energy, but energy cannot be created or destroyed within an isolated system. This law, called the law of conservation of energy was first postulated in the early 19th century.

Types of Energy

Potential Energy: Potential energy is stored energy and the energy of position

Kinetic Energy: Kinetic energy is motion - of waves, molecules, objects and substances.

chemical energy is energy stored in the bonds of atoms and molecules.

radiant energy is electromagnetic energy that travels in waves. light is one type of radiant energy.

Mechanical energy is energy stored in objects by tension.

Thermal energy, or heat, is the vibration and movement of the atoms and molecules within substances.

Gravitational energy is energy stored in an object’s height.

Motion energy is energy of the movement of objects.

electrical energy is delivered by tiny charged particles called electrons, typically moving through a wire.

sound is the movement of energy through substances in longitudinal (compression/rarefaction) waves.

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Electricityone form of energy we interact with on a daily basis is electricity. electricity is both a part of nature (remember benjamin franklin flying a kite in a lightning storm?) and created by people. it is energy for the things we use everyday – our lights, our cell phones, our computers, and even your school building. it is important to remember that electricity and energy are not exactly the same thing. electricity is one type of energy. for our purposes, electricity is the flow of an electric charge (electrons or charged particles) along a conductor.

How Is Electricity Made and How Does it Get to Us?in order for our lights to turn on when we flip a switch, electricity must be produced and often travels a long distance to reach us. electricity is produced in a facility called a power plant. The power plant pushes the flow of electrical power along a conductor – usually a power line, which connects it to our homes, schools and anywhere else that needs electricity to operate.

What About Heat?depending on location, heat can be the most energy intensive use in a building. understanding how a heating system works is very important! Most heating systems begin with a boiler or furnace, which uses oil or natural gas to heat air or water. The heated medium (hot air or steam) then drives a pump or blower that moves the steam or hot air all over the building.

Most energy starts from fossil fuels. fossil fuels are minerals and elements from the earth that contain stored energy. Think of fossil fuels like batteries. in order to unlock their energy, fossil fuels must be burned. Most power plants in the united states burn fossil fuels to create electricity and most of today’s heating systems also require fossil fuels to operate. (fossil fuels will be discussed in greater detail in section e3.)

So What’s the Problem?The way we make electricity affects your health and the environment. burning fossil fuels produces a lot of smoke. The smoke contains pollutants which can be dangerous to both people and the environment. The pollutants released by a power plant include particulate matter, nitrous and sulfur oxides, and other emissions, which can lead to respiratory problems like asthma and even more serious health issues such as cancer. power plants also release a large amount of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (co2). These gases collect in the earth’s atmosphere, trapping heat and uV rays from the sun inside, thus increasing the earth’s surface temperature. climate change can have serious consequences for the environment as well as people. We will discuss climate change in greater detail in section e3.

Did you know…

• The average American uses six times more energy than the global average!

• In the United States, we use more than $1,000,000 (one million) of energy each minute!

(Source: EPA)

For the Students:

Activity Worksheet: E1 Energy Here, There, everywhere

Lesson E1 Intro to Energy: What is Energy?

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ActivityE1 energy: Here, There, Everywhere!

Part One: What’s Your Hypothesis?answer the questions below. Think about your answers and form a hypothesis. Write your hypothesis in the space below.

Focus on Your School

1. What types of energy are found in your school?2. Where does the energy come from?3. do you contribute to the energy of the school? do you use the school’s energy? how?4. how do you experience or measure this energy?5. What things can you see that let you know energy is produced or used in your building?6. how does temperature relate to energy in the building?7. What is your hypothesis about how energy is generated and consumed in your school?

Part Two: Map it!Make a map of your school. Try to make your map as accurate as possible because you will use it for the next several weeks to record energy information about your school. be sure to consider classrooms, bathrooms, closet spaces, etc. use rulers, markers, and poster board or paper to design maps.

Be sure to put away your map in a safe place. You will use it again in a later lesson.

Objectives: Students will... • experiment with measuring electricity and learn to read a multimeter.• create a simple circuit• explore and detect magnetic fields.

Time: 2 hours

Location: classroom

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Part Three: Let’s Investigate!now you are going to start looking around your school building to find out more about its energy use. before leaving the classroom, your class should prepare a list of things to investigate. possible areas to focus on include:

• What areas of the school use a lot of energy? • Where is energy made in the school (such as boiler room, etc.)?• Think about temperature. are there areas of the school that are really hot? really cold?• Where is energy stored?• Where is energy exiting or escaping building (i.e. drafty old windows)?• Where is energy entering building (for example, you can trace the path of the heating ducts)?

Don’t forget to make a key for your map. for each focus area, develop a symbol to represent it on your map.

investigating your school may involve more than just looking around the building. some things might be harder to see than others. Talking to your school’s custodial staff can be quite helpful. They are very knowledgeable about the things needed to operate your school building.

Part Four: Wrap Uponce you return to your classroom, look at your original hypothesis.

Q: how does it compare to what you found during your investigation? Why?

ActivityE1 energy: Here, There, Everywhere!

(For example, you may want to use blue wavy lines to represent cold air or red dots for hot air)

cold air hot air

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Lesson E2 Electricity 101: The Basics

Electricityelectricity is the flow of electrical power or charge. We produce electricity through the conversion of primary sources of energy, such as coal or solar energy. electricity may be produced by renewable or nonrenewable sources.

let’s back up. electricity begins with an atom. atoms are basic units of matter that make up everything on our planet. each atom is composed of a nucleus, which contains positively charged protons and neutral neutrons. a cloud of negatively charged electrons surrounds the nucleus. The electrons are attracted to the protons by electromagnetic force, which keeps them spinning around the nucleus.

This cloud of electrons is arranged into shells, or orbits, around the nucleus. The shell closest to the nucleus can hold two electrons. on outer shells, electrons will sometimes be pulled away from the nucleus. electrons move from one shell to another, or are pulled to the shells of other atoms. The movement of electrons produces an electrical charge. This phenomenon creates electricity.

Opposites Attract - MagnetismThe spinning of electrons around the nucleus produces a charge. Most objects are not magnetic because their electrons spin in different, random directions, and cancel each other out. Magnets are different; the molecules in magnets are arranged so that their electrons spin in the same direction,

producing a magnetic field. The magnetic field is negatively charged on one end and positively charged on the other. - a north pole and a south pole. Magnetic force flows from the north pole to the south pole. if placed near each other, two north poles or two south poles will repel one another, but opposite poles (a north and a south) attract.

The earth itself is like a large magnet with magnetic fields coming from its north and south poles, a compass will show the direction of the earth’s magnetic fields by always pointing to the magnetic north pole.

properties of magnets can be used to make electricity by pushing and pulling electrons found in magnetic fields. electrons found in metals such as copper can easily be moved from their shells by magnets. This process is often used to generate electricity in a power plant.

Let’s Talk Numbers - How Do We Measure Energy?

How do we actually measure electricity for buildings and other applications?

electricity is measured in watts, a unit of power. it was named for James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine.

To calculate the wattage of an appliance - how much electricity it needs to work – we must find its voltage (V) and amperage (a).


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Voltage is the rate at which energy is flowing. it is measured in volts.

Amperage or Current is the amount or flow of energy. it is measured in amperes, or amps for short. if you compare the flow of electricity to plumbing pipes, voltage would be the water pressure and amperage would be the flow rate. now imagine turning on the shower. You can increase the power of the water hitting the tub in two ways: by increasing the water pressure or by increasing the amount of water coming out of the shower head. either way, the power is increased.

We find the wattage of an appliance by multiplying the voltage and the amperage.

Power (watts) = Voltage (V) x Amps (A)

Energy Conversion Values

now that we have power, we need to consider the unit of time! how long is the electricity being used? Energy = power x time. This is measured in kilowatt-hours.

Wait kW? if we have more than 1000 watts, we can use the unit kilowatt, which is equal to 1000 watts.

For instance, 3000 Watts = 3 kilowatts

We also use “unit comparisons” to help us understand the relationship between a raw material and different kinds of energy. popular units for comparing energy include british Thermal units (btu), barrels of oil equivalent, metric tons of oil equivalent, metric tons of coal equivalent, and terajoules.

in the us, the btu, a measure of heat energy, is the most commonly used unit for comparing fuels. every day the average american uses about 896,000 btu’s. We use the term quad to measure very large quantities of energy. a quad is one quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000) btu’s. The united states uses about one quad of energy every 3.6 days. in 2007, the u.s. consumed 101.55 quads of energy, an all-time high. ¹

Lesson E2 Electricity 101: The Basics

For example, 4.5 V x 3 a = 13.5 Watts (that’s like a lamp, or small electronic device)

For example, 300 watts x 5 hours = 1500 w/h or 1.5kw/h

¹ US Energy Information Agency

Cubic Feet Natural Gas(CF)

Barrels Oil (bbl)

Short Tons Bituminous Coal (T)

British Thermal Units (Btu)

Kilowatt Hours Electricity (KWH)

Bone Dry Douglas Fir Bark & Wood (T)

1000 (1 Mcf) 0.18 0.04 1 Million 293 0.56

3,413 0.61 0.14 3.41 Million 1000 (1 MWh) 0.19

1 Million (1 MMcf) 180 40 1 billion 293,000 56

For the Students:

Activity Worksheet: E2 Electro-Lab

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Objectives: Students will... • experiment with measuring electricity and learn to read a multimeter.• create a simple circuit• explore and detect magnetic fields. Time: 2 hours Location: classroom

Materials:• paper & pencil

• multimeters

• citrus fruit (e.g., lemon,

lime, orange, grapefruit)

• copper nails

• screws or wire

(about 2” or 5 cm long)

• zinc nails or screws or

galvanized nails

(about 2” or 5 cm long)

• plastic bag

• 9-volt batteries

• holiday lights with 2”

or 5 cm leads (enough wire to connect

it to the nails)

• magnet bars

• compasses

• notebook paper

• brown paper

• foil

• cotton cloth

• felt

Part One: Measuring Energy, Creating a Circuit:1. divide the class into groups of 2-3 students and introduce the multi-meter

tool. a multimeter is a simple tool used to measure electricity.

2. have students practice using the positive and negative ends of the meter and taking readings for different units – watts, amps, voltage. remind students what these values represent.

3. ask each group to use their multi-meters to measure various surfaces around the classroom. do they note any changes in the multimeter readings?

students will measure the stored energy in a battery as well as a citrus fruit (i.e. lemon, orange). Then using wire, a battery and a few other materials, they will create a simple circuit and convert stored energy into electrical energy. a circuit is any device that provides a path for an electrical current to flow.

ActivityE2 electro-lab

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Citrus

Give one citrus fruit and a copper penny and zinc nail to each group.

1. each group should roll the fruit around on the table or gently squeeze it with their hands so that the juice flows freely, but without breaking the skin.

2. insert a zinc nail and a copper nail (or copper penny) into the fruit so that they are about 2” apart. They should not touch each other. avoid puncturing through the other side of the fruit. The zinc nail and the copper penny are electrodes. The orange juice is an electrolyte.

3. using the multimeter, attach alligator clips to the positive and negative ends of the leads. attach the clips on the other ends to the nails and/or penny. The positive lead should go to the copper and negative to the zinc. students should observe and record the reading on the multimeters.

Battery1. Give each group a nine volt battery and a holiday light. ask

students to measure the stored energy in the battery by using the alligator clips to attach the multimeter to the nodes on top of a 9-volt battery and observe their readings.

2. roughly an inch of insulation should be removed from the leads of the holiday light, so that the leads may be wrapped around the nodes on the battery.

3. once the second lead is connected, the light will turn on!

4. each group should measure the output of the circuit using the multimeter. after recording their findings, have a brief discussion about the various results. if time permits, students may hypothesize whether or not the citrus contains enough energy to power the light. They may test their hypotheses by connecting the light leads to the zinc and copper nails.

What did you measure? Voltage (Volts) Amperage (Amps) Power (Watts)

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Part Two: Metal DetectorsMagnetic fields are everywhere, sometimes closer than you would think. in this experiment we are going to test the strength of magnetic fields using different materials as insulators.

1. divide the class into small groups of 3-4. each group should get a 3-4 inch magnetic bar, a compass, a piece of metal and a grouping of materials such as felt, brown paper, plastic bags, cotton cloth and other media.

2. each group should choose a material and place one layer of the material between the magnet and the piece of metal.

3. They may test for the presence of a magnetic force in two ways. does the material stick to metal? does it move the compass? each group should repeat the procedure with the other materials they received.

4. students should record their observations in their student workbooks.

5. now have students place 4 layers of each material between the magnet and the piece of metal and record their observations in the chart.

6. if time allows, experiment by using metal surfaces in the classroom to test out your experiment. ask students to record their results and observations in their workbooks.

Material Used Number of Layers Sticks to Metal? Moves Compass?


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Lesson E3 Electricity 102: How is it produced & used?

now you know how electricity works, but how is it made? in section one, we mentioned power plants and fossil fuels, but now it’s time to tell you the whole story.

Fossil Fuels: What are they?fossil fuels are minerals and elements found in the earth and formed over millions of years, which contain stored energy. This energy can be transformed into usable energy like electricity. common forms of fossil fuels include coal, oil (petroleum), and natural gas. in order to unlock the energy in fossil fuels, we must transform them in some way. burning fossil fuels is how the united states produces most of its electricity. in 2009 roughly 50% of electricity in the us was made in coal-fired power plants. below are a few details about the most widely used fossil fuels, how they are formed, and who has them:

Coal begins as layers of plant matter that gather at the bottom of a body of water. The layers are compressed over millions of years into coal deposits. The largest coal reserves are found in china, russia, india, australia and the united states. china produces the most coal followed by the united states, which consumes about 14% of the world total. ninety percent of coal in the u.s. is used for generation of electricity.

Petroleum (“rock oil”) or crude oil is a naturally occurring liquid. it is made of a mixture of hydrocarbons and other organic compounds found beneath the earth’s surface. petroleum is usually extracted by drilling. The largest deposits and sites of production of oil are in saudi arabia and russia. at the moment, the united states imports more oil than any other country in the world, consuming nearly 19.5 million barrels per day. (source: u.s. energy information administration)

Natural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane. it is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, and landfills. The world’s largest gas reserves are located in russia, with 4.757 × 1013 m³ (1.6 × 1015 cu ft). russia is also the world’s largest natural gas producer, through the Gazprom company. (source: u.s. energy information administration)

For the Students:

Activity Worksheet: E3a Power Plant Hookup

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NOTE: it is recommended that students perform this hands-on activity before engaging in a discussion about how power plants work. This will give them a better context for understanding the material.

1. divide class into small groups of 4-5 students.

2. hand out one set of cards to each group.

3. students must put the cards in order from fossil fuel to light bulb. if the class seems to struggle with the concept of electrical production, you can give them the first card (picture of coal), last card (cfl bulb) or both to get them started.

4. once all groups have completed arranging the cards, review the correct order.

• cut out these two cards and the following cards on the next two activity sheets.

• Fold in half and glue corrisponding cards back to back

ActivityE3a power plant hookup

Objectives: Students will...• understand how a power plant works

Time: 20 minutes Location: classroom

Materials: power plant hookup Game cards

Correct Order: fossil fuel - furnace - boiler - Turbine - Generator - power lines - light bulb

Fossil Fuel a source of fuel that contains

energy - coal, petroleum, or natural gas. it is found deep within the earth and mined (dug out) or

drilled. once the fuel is extracted, it is brought to a power plant, where it is burned to release its energy.

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Furnace a furnace is a piece of machinery that

produces heat by burning materials that contain energy. When these materials

are burned, they release heat. The heat is then used in another part of the power plant. To determine which step a furnace is, think about the way we might keep a fire burning and how we might use the

heat produced by fire.

Boiler a boiler is similar to a giant pot or teakettle. it turns water into steam.

a power plant uses the energy from another step to create this steam.

Turbine a turbine is made up of many

blades that spin when steam is pushed through it. as the turbine spins, it is connected to another

piece of machinery that also spins and produces electricity.

ActivityE3a power plant hookup FOLD HERE

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ActivityE3a power plant hookup FOLD HERE

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Light Bulb light bulbs use electricity to produce light in homes, schools, stores and many other

places. To save electricity, make sure to turn off the lights when you leave a room!

Power Lines power lines conduct, or carry,

electricity from where it is produced to where it is used.

Generator a generator is composed of a large

magnet surrounded by copper wire. as the generator spins, it produces electricity. To determine which step a generator is, think

about what might make it spin.

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ProductionMost of the electricity in the united states is generated from fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil. These energy sources are placed in a large furnace and burned to heat water into high-pressure steam. The steam drives a large rotary machine called a turbine. The steam spins the turbine, which is attached to a generator. The generator consists of a magnet surrounded by copper wire. When the rotation of magnets against the copper occurs, an electric current is created. This electrical current is then sent to a transformer where the voltage is increased and distributed to transmission lines, eventually making its way to your home or school.

Distributionelectricity is distributed through regional and national grid systems. a grid system is a network through which suppliers distribute electricity to consumers. Most grids, depending on the location and the utility (electricity, natural gas, etc.), are indirectly connected to dozens, and often hundreds, of power plants. some power consumed in the united states is imported from canada and Mexico. Most grids are centralized, meaning that if one part of the power system is disrupted, the whole area goes out. The grid also works with an alternating current form of

electricity transportation, making it difficult to hook up renewable energy systems, like wind turbines and solar panels, because they are not compatible with the systems in place.

Grids and power production systems are composed of some basic equipment:Circuits - electricity travels in closed loops, or circuits. it must have a complete path before the electrons can move. if a circuit is open, the electrons cannot flow. When we flip on a light switch, we close a circuit. The electricity flows from an electric wire, through the light bulb, and back out another wire.

Transformers - To solve the problem of sending electricity over long distances, William stanley developed a device called a transformer. The electricity produced by a generator travels along cables to a transformer, which changes electricity from low voltage to high voltage (remember the water pressure analogy?). electricity can be moved long distances more efficiently using high voltage.

Turbines - an electric utility power station uses a turbine, engine, water wheel, or other machine to drive an electric generator - a device that converts mechanical or chemical energy to electricity.

For the Students:

Activity Worksheet: E3b Electricity at Home


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ActivityE3b electricity at home

Objective: Students will...• read and understand an electric bill• Gain a sense of the energy used by household appliances

Time: 40 minutes Location: classroom

Materials: Wattage game cards, student workbooks

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Part One: Wattage Game1. divide class into small groups of 3-4

2. Give each group a set of Wattage Game cards.

3. have students match the appliance with the amount of electricity it uses and record it in their workbooks.

4. once all the groups have completed matching the cards, review the correct matches.

• cut out these two cards and the following cards on the next two activity sheets.

• Fold in half and glue corrisponding cards back to back

Correct Matches: Camera -25 Watts Light Bulb - 60 Watts

Television - 100 Watts Computer (Desktop) - 200 Watts Refrigerator - 750 Watts

Air Conditioner - 800 Watts Microwave - 1000 Watts

25 Watts

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60 Watts

100 Watts

200 Watts


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750 Watts

800 Watts

1000 Watts


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Part One continued: Wattage Game

A few points to consider for discussion:

These measurements are not exact. for example, some air conditioners can use quite a bit more or quite a bit less than 800 Watts, depending on its size, if it is energy efficient, etc.

appliances that are related to temperature – they generate heat or cold – use far greater amounts of electricity than other appliances. examples include hair dryer, toaster oven, iron, fridge, ac, and microwave.

When considering how much energy an appliance uses, do not only consider the wattage, but the amount of time the appliance is on. for example, a microwave may use 1000 Watts, but we only use it for 2-3 minutes at a time, whereas the 100-watt television could be on for 8 hours.

Part Two: Reading an Electric Billbills are no fun, but reading and understanding an electric bill will give you an idea of how much energy a household uses. have students examine the electric bill in their workbook and answer the subsequent questions.

The electricity provider sets a rate to charge you per kilowatt-hour (example 18 cents per kilowatt hour). When the meter reader looks at your meter, the power company multiplies your total amount of electricity used by their kW/hr rate.

Note

• The readings on the bill are in kilowatt/hours.• The bill may also note your previous use and

your current use for comparison purposes.


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Heating Things Upenergy created from a difference in temperature is called heat or thermal energy. We measure heat energy in calories. heat can travel in many different ways. When heat travels through fluids like air vapor or water, this movement is called convection. When heat flows through solids like a door or window, this is called conduction. lastly when we are talking about air or the sun affecting heat travel, it is referred to as radiation.

Most schools use heating oil or natural gas to run boilers and building heating systems. heating oil is a liquid petroleum product used as a fuel for furnaces or boilers in buildings. The oil is sometimes stored in aboveground storage tanks located in the basements, garages, or outside the building. There are 3 types of heating oil, no. 6, no. 4, and no. 2. in new York city, a report from environmental defense fund showed that just one percent of the city’s buildings, those burning the dirtiest grades of heating oil (no. 4 and no. 6), produce more pollution than all the city’s cars and trucks combined. no. 2 heating oil generates

93% less soot than no. 6. heating oil comprises 25% of the crude oil imported to the us. This is the second largest use of oil after gasoline for cars.

The output of a heating system is the heater’s rate of production. This is usually measured in british Thermal units (bTus). The heating load is the rate at which a building loses heat, or how much heat is escaping the building that should not be leaking out. The delivered efficiency of a heating system is the output of the system divided by the input.

Energy, Health, and Climate Changealthough electricity is something we use every day, we are not always aware of the huge environmental impacts associated with the production and transmission of electricity. all power generators or plants, for instance, have a physical footprint (the area where they are placed or located). This can impact animal habitats, soil erosion and the health of bodies of water and nearby flora/fauna.


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all major cities in the united states have air quality problems that stem from conventional power plants. The particulate matter, nitrogen and sulfur oxides and other emissions have increased the likelihood of childhood asthma by as much as 45% from levels 10 years ago. The production of electricity typically requires a great deal of water to cool turbines. This hot water is discharged into local waterways. The elevated temperature impacts local aquatic ecosystems, resulting in fish kills and other damage to aquatic life.

lastly, the land-use issues associated with the extraction of raw materials like coal, oil and natural gas are a major concern. coal mining, for example, has resulted in large strip mining operations including mountaintop removal, which destroy local ecosystems. offshore oilrigs, which drill for oil located under the ocean floor, continue to damage bird and marine life and habitats through oil spill accidents. natural gas, with its need for extensive piping infrastructure and risky extraction methods such as hydraulic fracturing, can fragment ecosystems as well as ruin human drinking water supplies.

Electricity’s Impact on the Environment


Emission Types emissions of carbon dioxide (co2), carbon monoxide (co), sulfur dioxide (so2), nitrogen oxides (noX), particulate matter (pM) and heavy metals such as mercury.

Air Quality particulate Matter results in hazy conditions. along with ozone, pM contributes to asthma and chronic bronchitis, especially in children and the elderly. Very small, or “fine pM” is also thought to cause emphysema and lung cancer. noX contributes to ground level ozone, which irritates and damages the lungs

Water Quality so2 causes acid rain, which is harmful to plants and to animals that live in water, and it causes or worsens respiratory illnesses and heart diseases, particularly in children and the elderly. heavy metals such as mercury can be hazardous to human and animal health.

Climate Change carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and a major contributor to climate change.

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Understanding Building Performancenow that you have identified the sources of energy let’s think about how energy is used in your school building. To do this, we will use techniques from the field of building science. building science, or the study of how buildings operate over time, focuses on the analysis of physical systems affecting a building. building performance is one strategy used in the field of building science. it considers many factors in a building such as use, function, inputs and outputs to assess the resources used and the amount of money needed to keep the building running. it has the potential to do two things: save a lot of money and reduce the eco-footprints of buildings. To fully understand building performance, we must think of a building as a system. one of the most important aspects of building performance is understanding how things enter and exit the building. These inputs and outputs are directly related to a building’s efficiency.

building performance technicians, or building analysts, perform an audit in which they test the efficiency of many areas of the building such as the shell (exterior or outside layer of a building), heating/cooling systems, lighting, and window/door areas.

Lesson E4 Energy Investigation 1: In the Classroom


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below is the process a building performance technician will use to determine the overall performance of a building. Think about your school and consider how you would conduct an analysis.

Gathering Informationa technician will gather utility bills for a building from the past five years, which provide a good baseline of energy information. This will demonstrate how much heating oil/gas and electricity are being used. additionally, it shows seasonal variations in energy use. a technician will also gather information about the size, structure and use of the building.

Performance Auditafter gathering the initial data, the technician conducts a performance audit. This audit collects information on:

• Building Airflow - building airflow must be calculated for the home according to the air exchange requirements provided by ashrae standard 62-89. a blower door test is used to assist in calculating airflow.

• Building Evaluation - heat loss and savings are calculated by evaluating the insulation and r-values of doors and windows.

• Combustion Safety and Carbon Monoxide Protection - carbon monoxide, spillage and draft tests are conducted

Energy AuditThe technician will then perform an in-depth energy audit of the building, examining the major areas that affect energy use:

• Building Shell - analyze the perimeter of the building, looking for irregular shapes that could be signs of leaks

• Building Heat Flow - look at how heat circulates into different rooms in a building and what kinds of heat systems are used.

• Air Leakages - examine where air could penetrate building shell and where air could escape

• Insulation - a material used to keep heat inside and cold outside of a building (or vise versa).

• Windows/Doors - Windows and doors are often areas of air leaks.

• Lighting/Appliances - The kinds of lighting and appliances used will affect electricity use. a technician looks for inefficient appliances and outdated lighting systems.


Photo: Dennis Schroeder, NREL

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Reportingfinally, the technician will write a report outlining the results of the investigation, including energy use and problem areas where efficiencies can be improved. The report will make recommendations to the building owner based on these findings, taking into account the cost of each measure and the savings to investment ratio (sir).

now that we know buildings use a lot of energy, let’s find out a few basic things about your school’s energy use. Where is it produced? What type of heating system does your school have, and where is it located?

Collecting Information For Your SchoolYour first step is to gather general information about your school’s current energy consumption. To begin, find your local utility board and where the power plants in your region are located. Trace the power lines back to your school. determine what kinds of fuels are used to produce electricity for your school.

second, investigate your school’s heating system. Most heating systems are located in the basement or on the first floor of your school building. find out the size of the furnace or boiler system and how often a technician has to replenish heating fuel. Talking to your school’s custodial staff can be very helpful in gathering data.

lastly, obtain copies of all utility statements issued during the past 6 months. This will help in establishing benchmark goals to reach over time. it is also very useful to have a blueprint of the building with delineated floor areas for each space in the school.

Consider this profile from a school in Wisconsin:

For the Students:

Activity Worksheet: E4 Classroom Energy Audit


Size of School Electricity Load Heating Load

76,057 square feet 390,000 kWh of electricity per yr. 39,550 therms of natural gas per yr.

What does this equate to?

• 896,700 lbs of co2 emissions• 110,065 lbs of coal• enough electricity to power a

60-watt light-bulb for 742 years

• 463,051 lbs of co2 emissions• 43,182 gallons of propane• enough energy to drive an average car

321,390 miles (around the world 13 times)

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ActivityE4 classroom energy audit

Objectives: Students will...• understand how to measure electricity in small appliances• understand energy use in their classroom• form hypotheses on the energy use of various appliances and the entire school based on collected

data.• become familiar with energy audits

Time: 1 hour Location: classroom

Part One: Measuring Energy in the Classroom1. ask class to name all of the things in the classroom that use electricity. Write

their answers on the board. (noTe: You will not be able to measure the lighting system with the Kill-a-Watt ™ meter)

2. refer students to their answers to the wattage game. ask students to use these numbers as a general guide to hypothesize how much electricity each classroom appliance uses. Write down their answers on the board next to the respective appliance.

3. demonstrate how the Kill-a-Watt ™ meter works. A. unplug the appliance to be tested. B. plug the kill-a-watt meter into the outlet (make sure that the meter is set to kW – just press the button marked “kW” until it appears on the screen) C. now plug the appliance into the kill-a-watt meter™, turn the appliance on, and note the reading

for things such as an electric pencil sharpener or a cd player, the reading may be different if the appliance is not performing. have students measure both ways.

4. divide the class into small groups of 3-4 and give each group a kill-a-watt meter. You may either assign each group to measure one appliance or have all groups rotate through all the appliances.

5. after the class has completed their measurements, ask students to report their findings. record their answers on the board next to their initial hypotheses. how do the actual numbers compare to what they originally thought?

Materials: Kill-a-Watt ™ meters, student workbooks

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Part Two: School Energy Useusing the data collected in the classroom, have students make estimates as to how much electricity the school consumes each year.

1. Total the kilowatt usage in your classroom and count the number of classrooms in the building.

2. Then think of other spaces in the school (cafeteria, office, hallways, etc.) and what appliances are present. use the electricity Value and electricity use in education buildings charts in section e5 to aid in more accurate estimations of energy usage. Make estimates for these spaces as well as for lighting (and don’t forget exterior lighting). if the school grounds include facilities such as a stadium, be sure to account for these as well.

3. have the class compile their findings and save them for later comparisons. next up – school energy audit!

ActivityE4 classroom energy audit

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in this section, you and your class will develop and perform an energy audit of the school. You know the steps of conducting an audit and, from your preliminary data collection, you have a basic understanding of your school’s energy use. before you develop an audit for your school, let’s review one more method of assessing buildings.

Taking the LEEDleadership in energy and environmental design or leed is a green building certification system, developed by the us Green building council, which assesses such areas of a building as energy efficiency, water efficiency, co² emissions reduction, indoor environmental air quality, and stewardship of resources among others.

in developing an energy audit your school, you may want to consider a few of the leed standards:

Energy and Atmosphere: The energy and atmosphere (ea) category for leed deals with energy efficiency and renewable energy use in school buildings. The recommendations and criteria focus mainly on monitoring programs, energy audits, infrastructure retrofits and upgrades to increase efficiency and the performance of your building.

Operations and Maintenance - Existing Facilities: The primary focus for existing buildings is to monitor energy consumption and develop a conservation strategy. With its roots in the 1973 oil crisis, energy conservation has many potential applications in heating and cooling systems, lighting and appliance usage.

Lesson E5 Energy Investigation 2: School Energy Audit!


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Key areas include:Energy Efficiency Best Management Practices -develop a planning, documentation and assessment strategy for reducing energy. This requires setting benchmarks like reducing electricity use by 10% for the year and seeing how close to you come to reaching your target goals. (Make a goal for energy and do your best to stick to it)

Energy Efficiency Measures - This can include simple measures such as replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents. another idea is to fundraise for energy efficient appliances for the building. a good way to organize this initiative is to think about (1) operation (how can you make sure lights are turned off, heating is not too high and the building’s systems are off when not in use), (2) big ticket items like appliances and computers (make sure all new purchases are enerGY sTar) and (3) behavior (incorporate students and teachers into the plan).

Performance Measurement - use a computer-based automation system that monitors and controls key building systems. develop a breakdown of energy use in the building using energy bills or spot metering. develop system-level metering. a great tool is the epa’s enerGY sTar portfolio Manager, which can be found online.

(http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=evaluate_performance.bus_portfoliomanager)

on-site and off-site renewable energy - a great goal is to fundraise for on-site solar, wind or other renewable energy systems that will offset electricity or heat usage. if that seems out of reach, most utilities have an off-site renewable energy program that your school can enroll in. These programs offset your school’s energy use by supporting renewable energy applications elsewhere. These sources are defined by the center for resource solutions Green-e production certification requirements. consider solar, geothermal, wind, biomass and biogas technologies.


Photo: NYconsumer.gov

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New Constructionif your school is undergoing new construction, the usGbc has additional criteria to consider:

Commissioning of Building Energy Systems - The usGbc requires a technician to verify that a project’s energy-related systems are installed, calibrated and performing properly. These systems typically include heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (hVac&r) systems, lighting and day lighting controls, domestic hot water systems, and renewable energy systems (e.g. wind, solar).

Minimum Energy Performance - for a new building or renovation, the leed standard requires a 10% improvement in the proposed building performance rating for new buildings or a 5% improvement in the proposed building performance rating for major renovations to existing buildings.

On-site Renewable Energy - use on-site renewable energy systems, like solar, geothermal, or wind, to offset building energy costs.

Green Power - engage in at least a 2-year renewable energy contract to provide at least 35% of the building’s electricity from renewable sources, as defined by the center for resource solutions’ Green-e energy product certification requirements.

Developing a Plannow that we have some baseline information as reference, let’s think about some specific areas of your school for additional data:

Boiler room - a logical place to start is your school’s boiler room, which is typically found in the basement. There you will probably encounter a lot of machinery. ask custodial and maintenance staff to assist you in assessing the situation before bringing students. important information to note: the location of meters and other indicators of energy usage. also, be sure to find out what kind of heating fuel is used, most likely natural gas or heating oil.

Lighting in classrooms/school - lighting may account for 45-50% of electricity consumption in your building. Most schools use fluorescent T5 lighting systems, which are fairly efficient. note which kinds of bulbs are in use and begin to create a loose inventory or approximation of lighting fixtures in major areas of the school.

Equipment and Appliances - The computer lab, kitchen/cafeteria, or other areas where large appliances and electronics are in use, are hot spots for electricity consumption.

Outdoor Lighting - sometimes the largest consumer of electricity is not even in the school. stadium lights, for instance, can consume upwards of 5-10% of a school’s total electricity costs when in use. ask the grounds crew to give you a tour and ask about the equipment. find out the overall load lighting and other elements that contribute to school energy use.



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The following tables provide good reference for what consumes energy in school buildings.

Energy Use in Education Buildings

(Sources: EIA, 1997 – Commercial Buildings Energy Survey)

(Source: EIA)

Natural Gas/Heating Oil Percentage % Energy Consumption Billion Cubic Feet

space heating 60% 144

Water heating 30% 71

cooking 4% 9

other 6% 15

Electricity Percentage % Energy Consumption Billion kWh/year

lighting 56% 36

cooling 16% 10

other (refrigeration, cooking, water heating) 11% 7

space heating 6% 4

Ventilation 6% 4

office equipment 5% 3

Appliance Time in use Kilowatt/hrs used per yr.

Cost per Year

Aquarium 24 hours/day 700 $52.50

Clock 24 hours/day 36 $2.70

Clock radio 24 hours/day 44 $3.30

Coffee maker 30 minute/day 128 $9.60

Computer 4 hours/day 520 $39.00

Dehumidifier 12 hours/day 700 $52.50

Box Fan 4 hrs/day, 180 days/yr 144 $10.80

Heater (portable) 3 hours/day, 120 days/yr 540 $40.50

Microwave oven 2 hours/week 89 $6.68

Radio (stereo) 2 hours/day 73 $5.48

Refrigerator (frost-free 18 cubic feet)

24 hours/day 683 $51.23

Television 3 hours/day 264 $19.80

Toaster oven 1 hour/day 73 $5.48

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using a few simple visual assessment protocols and building performance techniques, your audit will focus on how much electricity and heat are consumed by the building. remember that electricity is calculated in kilowatt-hours (kWh) and heating fuel consumption is measured in british Thermal units (bTus) or cubic feet of natural gas (or other units). The most important variables to keep in mind throughout the audit are time and usage. a comprehensive understanding of your building’s use over time will allow for an accurate assessment.

Your audit will have some primary focus areas including:• Lighting - consider all lighting in spaces observed.

• Appliances and Equipment – profile and make note of all appliances and equipment using electricity.

• Heating and Cooling – note the kinds of heating/cooling systems in place and heating fuel used.

• Building Shell – a visual analysis of exterior and interior walls, windows, doors and spaces that may let heated or cooled air into or out of the building.

For the Students:

Activity Worksheet: E5 School Energy Audit

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ActivityE5 school energy audit

Part One: Getting Started1. Group students into teams (3-4 students each). each team will be assigned

a focus area and will conduct a visual walk through of their area. focus areas may include physical spaces like the cafeteria or building shell or systems like lighting or heat. encourage the students to ask teachers and other students about energy use in their focus area. are computers and lights left on regularly? are their classrooms typically too hot or too cold?

2. help students understand how to conduct a walk-through by first practicing in the classroom. The best thing to do is walk slowly, look up and down and make sure to consider all areas of the space – things that are hidden, things that are obvious and everything in-between. The walk through is the first step in an analysis of energy use in the building.

Part Two: Observations, Measurements, and Readings1. after students have practiced in the classroom, assign each group a

selected area in the school to audit. The tools required and the kind of data collected will be different depending on where a particular group is auditing. use the worksheet in the student workbook to record answers.

See Student ActivityE5 charts:

Objectives: Students will...• analyze energy use in the school building• assess and report on energy efficiency in the building• Make recommendations for improvement

Time: 2 hours Location: school building

Lighting and Appliances Heating Building Shell

• Things that use electricity• how Much (What’s the output?)• how long is it used or on?• subtotal (kW-h)

• square footage of the space• heating fuel and system Type• how long is it used or on?• subtotal (btu)

• evidence of holes, water damage etc?

• Windows and doors• interior/exterior Walls• conclusions

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Part Three: Recommendations/Reportingonce students have conducted their audits, it is time to assess the situation. different kinds of report cards communicate impacts in a variety of ways. in school, for example, a report card can be an indication of how well a student understands a topic or how much time she puts toward class work.

performance reports are used in industries worldwide to give investors and customers an idea of how well a company or particular sector is doing. even teachers receive report cards in the form of evaluations every once and awhile.

now that you know more about the building, it is time to put some numbers to these impacts. To create a report of your school’s energy efficiency, we will develop a report card based on the collected data. it is helpful to create a point system for the report, awarding more points for greater efficiency.

ActivityE5 school energy audit

Area of Focus Observation/Footprint Grade

classrooms

Gymnasium

Kitchen

Teachers lounge

basement (utility closets)

bathrooms

library

Media lab

other

A (90-100) High performance building – green roofs and solar panels are shooting out of the building!

B (80-89) This is a pretty green school. People turn off the lights, everything seems to be running efficiently, but there is still some room for improvement.

C (70-79) Not bad, you’ve really tried to tackle the conservation thing; You are working on replacing light bulbs and fixing windows leaks.

D (60-69) Could be better. Maybe there were attempts in the past, but right now it’s looking pretty sad.

F (50-59) Blackhole! Your school is an energy hog.

Progress Report:Wrap up the audit by asking students to summarize what they saw during their walk through. have each group discuss their particular focus and make recommendations for improvement and reduced energy use. as a class, establish benchmarks that are achievable for your school in 6 months, 1 year and 5 years.


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School Energy Use and the Environment:

Focus on Climate Changeaccording to the epa, the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil over the past 200 years has caused a significant increase in concentrations of heat trapping “greenhouse gases”- especially carbon dioxide- in our atmosphere. as greenhouse gas levels continue to rise, so do global temperatures. scientists predict that this change will lead to rising ocean sea levels, increased number of hurricanes, longer drought seasons and increased spread of diseases. but there is hope! We can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by changing the ways we use and produce energy starting with your school building.

how do we measure the amount of carbon produced by your school building’s energy use? To determine the carbon footprint, an assessment of the amount of carbon dioxide produced by an energy source, you need to find out what kind of fuels your local utility uses. some utilities may use a mix of all three fossil fuel types, while others may use a percentage of renewable energy.

Electricity: Typically, 1.5 lb of co2 is generated for every kilowatt-hour of electrical energy consumed. This will vary depending on the type of fossil fuel your utility uses and how much renewable energy they rely on.

Heating: for every gallon of heating oil your school uses, 22.4 lb of co2 is generated. for every 100 ft3 of natural gas consumed, 11.7 lb of co2 is produced.

Next:using the results from your energy audit, or an electric bill, calculate your school’s carbon footprint.


Energy Use Per Month Per Year CO2 emissions per Unit

Total CO2 emissions (in lbs) per year for my school

electricity (kilowatt-hour) 1.5 lb/kilowatt-hour

heating

- oil (gallons) 22.4 lb/gallon

- natural Gas (100 ft3) 11.7 lb/100 ft3

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Lesson E6 Energy Awareness Campaign: Focus on Climate Change

Why is energy efficiency so important?as you now know, the way we produce and consume energy has serious consequences for our health and the health of the environment. This is the bottom line. as we create more and more greenhouse gases, more heat is trapped in our atmosphere, raising the surface temperature of the planet.

Temperature change may not seem like a big deal, but as the temperature of our entire planet rises, whole ecosystems will be drastically affected. The way we live will change. ocean levels are predicted to rise. as they rise, more land goes underwater, which will change where people can live and build homes. as we lose land, less space for people to live means that some areas may become more populated than they are now.

changing temperatures influence weather patterns. This, in turn, affects things like how we grow and produce food, or how easy or difficult it is for us to raise a family and maintain our communities.

a rise in temperature also means that some places will have more water and some places will have less. how is this possible? places that currently have little water will lose even more to evaporation as the planet warms. places with a lot of ice will experience ice melting at faster rates, producing more water, which could lead to flooding. Many organisms, including humans, are adapted to live in the climate we have now. if the temperature continues to change, we may be forced to make big and possibly unpleasant changes to the way we live in order to survive.

But wait there’s hope! And it can start in your school!

Energy Conservation• What did your audit tell you about your school building? is it energy

efficient? is there room for improvement?

energy efficiency is a strategy to reduce energy usage in your school. This strategy may take many forms, but primarily aims to reduce electricity and heating fuel usage. efficiency measures can be small, but significant! start simple, re-emphasize conservation measures like making sure lights are turned off and unplugging unused electronics. replace outdated appliances with energy star-certified appliances (energy efficient). plan ahead by using timers and occupancy sensors. create a Green dashboard to publicly update school progress or to broadcast when the school community is nearing target benchmarks. Most importantly, encourage initiatives led by students that put responsibility for energy efficiency in the hands of everyone that uses the building.

For the Students:

Activity Worksheet: E6 Energy Awareness Campaign

Photo: Stuuf, Wikimedia Commons

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ActivityE6 energy awareness campaign

Part 1: Develop a Strategy1. You are the energy experts for your school. using the data collected in

your school energy audit, come together as a class and discuss your findings. What can be changed or needs improvement? how can this be done? What can students, staff, and community members do to reduce the school’s energy use?

2. as a group, develop at least 3-5 ways for students and staff to reduce energy use in the school. Write them down on chart paper.

Materials: Tbd – paper, markers, poster board, possibly larger craft items, cameras, etc.

Objectives: Students will...• develop an energy awareness campaign directed at the school and/or local community

in an effort to reduce energy use.• raise public awareness as to the impacts of energy production and use.

Time: 2-3 days development, ongoing project Location: classroom, auditorium, school, community

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Part 1 Continued: Develop a Strategy3. now it is your job to inform the public. create an energy awareness

campaign. as a class, brainstorm the best ways to do this. below are some examples to help get you started:

Green Dashboard – create a bulletin board in a public area of the school (lobby, hallway, etc.) in which you outline the school’s previous energy consumption, goals for the future, and what efforts are currently being made to reduce energy. This keeps the public informed about your project as well as the school’s progress.

Signage – This can be anything from informative posters to stickers on light switches reminding people to turn them off to brochures, etc.

Public or School-wide Assemblies – put together a presentation about energy use, its impacts and your findings in the school. show it to the public and have discussions about how people can help.

Media – use local TV and radio to promote your efforts in the school. if you have access to a camera, make a video about what students are doing and show it in schools, churches, community board meetings, etc.

Green Classroom Competitions – Get students involved by making it competitive. Which classroom can be the greenest? Which classroom can have the biggest impact on energy reduction?

4. once you have developed your approach, assign tasks. everyone in the class should be a part of the process. perhaps a few students enjoy drawing. They should work on signage. other students may like to perform in front of others, in which case, they should work on public outreach and presentations. a campaign has a job for everyone!

5. follow up – depending on what your class has developed, the actual delivery of your campaign could be a day, a week, or a yearlong process. it is important to continue to monitor energy use throughout and after the campaign. We do this partially to assess the impact of our campaign.

ActivityE6 energy awareness campaign

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Lesson E7 Intro to Renewable Energy:

Renewable Energysources of energy that can be naturally replenished are renewable forms of energy such as sunlight, wind, water, and geothermal heat. renewable energy sources are either infinite (the sun, wind and water) or constantly renewing. in 2006, about 18% of global energy consumption came from renewable energy.

Solarsolar energy, energy from the sun, has been used since ancient times. The rays of sunlight that reach the earth (radiation) can be converted into other forms of energy such as heat or electricity. solar energy may be converted into electricity in two ways: 1. photovoltaics (pVs), or solar panels, change sunlight directly into electricity, and 2. concentrating solar power plants, which create electricity by using heat from solar thermal collectors to heat a fluid that produces the steam to power a generator.

Windfor hundreds of years wind energy has been used to power the windmills of europe and asia, converting the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy, turning wheels to grind grain. Today wind-driven generators are used to convert the wind’s kinetic energy into electrical energy.

Wind-driven systems consist of a tower to support the wind generator and devices regulating generator voltage as well as a propeller and hub system, and a tail vane. Most large windfarms feed electricity into the grid, where the direct current (dc) is converted into alternating current (ac) and provides electricity to homes and buildings.

Wind energy accounts for 6 percent of renewable electricity generation. at the end of 2009, 34,863 megawatts of wind power have been installed in the u.s.2 due to continuing research and better placement of turbines, wind power has become much more reliable.

2 Energy Information Administration Photo: freeimages.co.uk

Photo: NASA/GSFC/SOHO


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Wave Power & HydroelectricityWaves are generated by wind passing over the surface of the sea. Wave power or tidal power uses the motion and energy created by these natural phenomena to generate electricity. Wave power farms are being used around the world to generate electricity off the coasts of countries like scotland, portugal and the united states.

hydroelectricity is the production of electricity using the gravitational force of falling water. Most hydroelectric power comes from the potential energy of water that is held back by dams. The falling water causes a turbine to spin and fuel a generator, which produces electricity. in 2006, just under 20% of the world’s electricity was supplied by hydroelectric dams and other systems. The Three Gorges dam complex on the Yangtze river in hubei, china, generates the most hydroelectricity worldwide.

Geothermal PowerGeothermal power comes from heat stored in the earth. over 70 countries make use of geothermal heating, consuming over 38 gigawatts of energy. There are many different strategies and applications for geothermal energy – some for heating purposes and others to produce electricity.

The most popular strategy consists of a piping system through which water or air is pumped. Most small geothermal systems take advantage of the consistent temperature found under the earth’s surface. circulating air or water transports this heat to the surface providing heating or cooling to buildings based on its differential with the surface temperature.


Photo: US Army Corps of Engineers

Photo: homeheatingsystems.org

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Understanding Your Site: Earth, Moon and Sunan important aspect of understanding energy consumption is considering your school’s relationship to the sun and local geography. The sun is one of our most precious natural resources! Throughout history, the sun has been used to tell time, grow food and determine the design, arrangement and architecture of buildings - from the ancient pyramids to modern skyscrapers.

sunlight is earth’s primary source of energy with over 1,368 W/m² of energy hitting the earth’s surface each day. This is known as the Solar Constant (the amount of incoming solar radiation per unit area), which is measured at a distance of one astronomical unit (au) from the sun. Thirty percent of the sun’s energy that reaches earth’s atmosphere is reflected back into outer space, 47 percent is absorbed by earth’s surface and converted into heat energy, and 23 percent drives the hydrological (water) cycle. less than one percent creates winds and ocean currents. only 0.03 percent is captured by plants and used in photosynthesis. The 0.03 percent of the sun’s energy captured by plants provides the entire world’s food energy. it also produced the stored fossil fuel energy (coal, oil, natural gas)!

The amount of sunlight that hits the earth’s surface, solar radiation, will be different depending on your location (longitude and latitude). To find out the solar radiation values for your school you can refer to the us department of energy’s national renewable energy lab’s online map (http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html) or determine the value using a solar pathfinder (http://www.solarpathfinder.com/). The pathfinder is an excellent tool to illustrate the concepts of solar time and shading as well as physical science concepts concerning the earth’s rotation and its relationship to the sun.

What does this have to do with your school? The location of your school and its relationship to the sun affects your school’s energy consumption and bills in a big way. The positioning of windows, the color of the roof, the number of trees and surrounding buildings that may create shadows all determine the electricity load needed to heat and cool the building. These factors also affect the use of solar panels on the roof of the school. consider all of these elements in your investigation. it is a good idea to look at the position and design of the school, and closely examine the architecture of the building. Think about how the sun hits the surface of the school. do the shape and form of the building affect this? consider how much energy may be wasted if the architecture does not work with the sun’s rotation around the site.

For the Students:

Activity Worksheet: E7 DIY Solar Tracker Lab


Annual Direct Normal Solar Tracking (Two-Axis Tracking Concentrator)

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ActivityE7 diY solar Tracker lab

DIY Sundiala sundial can be used to tell time based on the movement of the sun throughout the course of a day.

To begin:

1. cut a circle out of cardboard eight inches in diameter to make the base of the sundial. use a pencil to mark the center of the circle.

2. Get an item to use for the hand of your sundial. The hand, also called the gnomon, is what will cast the shadow onto the base. a pencil or pen will work well as a gnomon.

3. print out a sundial face diagram. line up the diagram with the circular base you made. copy the lines from the diagram onto your base, labeling each line with the corresponding hour.

4. insert the pen or pencil (gnomon) so that it stays upright. Tape it into place.

5. Take your sundial outside. using a compass, find due north. point the gnomon of your sundial so that it is directed due north. read the time by observing where the shadow is cast onto your dial.

students may record their sundial readings and compare them to the actual time of day to calculate accuracy.

Materials: foil, compass, cardboard, glue, tape, plexiglas or plastic wrap, string, compass

Objective: Students will...• engage in design projects that employ various methods of harnessing the sun’s energy• assess their school site’s potential for solar panels

Time: 2-3 hours Location: classroom and schoolyard

Time of Day Sundial Approximation Percentage of Accuracy

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DIY Sun Tracker: Find out where solar panels will work best!You can create your own sun tracker or purchase a solar pathfinder for this activity at http://www.solarpathfinder.com/

To make your own sun tracker:1. create a sun locator based on your longitude and

latitude. To do this, cut out a circle and fold in half. label the bottom (straight) part of your sheet with east on the left, south in the middle and West on the right. This is a basic guide that shows how the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The idea is to use this to demarcate where the sun is positioned throughout the course of a day. The pattern should look like a bell curve where the sun is highest in the sky at noon.

2. affix your solar locator to a piece of cardboard that is the same shape.

3. using a protractor, create a notch in your cardboard/locater every 30 or 15 degrees depending on desired accuracy.

To use your sun tracker:1. The sun tracker or pathfinder helps you

understand how much solar potential your site has. choose a site at your school to analyze. use a compass to help you locate your relationship to the sun.

2. align the compass with true north. Your sun locator is now aimed toward true south. Keep the sun locator level.

3. Keeping the sun locator level and aligned in this direction, lift it to your eye so that you are looking through the rear sight. The idea is to identify anything on the site that may cause shadows or disrupt direct sunlight from hitting a desired location - like the roof of your school. (caution: never use your sun locator to look directly at the sun. it may cause permanent eye damage.)

4. The curved top of the sun locator represents the sun’s lowest path in the sky in your area (winter or december 21). The sun will not drop lower in the sky than this line, so objects masked by your locator will never shade your site.

5. objects in front of you that appear above the curved top, however, will create shading problems at your site. starting at 9 a.m. on your locator, observe the objects that will shade your site during winter.

6. sketch these objects in their correct positions and proportions within and around the lower half of the solar window. continue sketching until you reach 3 p.m.

7. complete your solar shadowing by sketching any remaining objects within and around the upper half of the solar window in their correct positions and proportions. be sure to sketch eaves, awnings, or other objects that you see.

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DIY Sun Tracker Continued:students may choose from a number of online technology resources to help evaluate their site more accurately. Group students into research teams of 3-4 and ask them to complete the rubric below using one of the following websites or technologies:

shadow analyzer (http://www.drbaumresearch.com/prod38.htm)

sunTracker is an iphone® based site evaluation tool, providing full solar site analysis in an affordable hand held package. (http://www.imeasuresystems.com/)

sun path chart – this program creates sun path charts in cartesian or polar coordinates for typical dates of each month (i.e.; days receiving about the mean amount of solar radiation for a day in the given month).

solar pathfinder - The solar pathfinder has been the standard in the solar industry for solar site analysis for decades. its panoramic reflection of the site instantly provides a full year of accurate solar/shade data, making it the instrument of choice. (http://www.solarpathfinder.com/)

horizon software simulates sun path diagrams for arbitrary latitude. (http://www.energieburo.ch/web/produkte/horizon)

sun angle calculator (http://www.sbse.org/resources/sac/index.htm)


Time of Year Solar Potential for Site % of Shadowing

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Focus on Solar (Photovoltaics)The sun is our greatest energy source: infinite, reliable, and readily available all over the world. every hour the sunlight that reaches the earth is greater than the amount of energy used by every person on the planet in an entire year. We can use the sun’s light to make electricity using a technology called photovoltaics.

The term photovoltaic refers to the direct transformation of sunlight into electric current. (photo meaning “light” and “voltaic” meaning electricity) a solar photovoltaic (pV) cell converts sunlight to electricity. pV cells are made of a semiconductor material, typically silicon, which creates a positive and a negative charge in the silicon and conducting material. When sunlight strikes a pV cell, an electron is displaced. Wires attached to the cell gather these loose electrons, forming an electrical current. The more cells, the greater the current and voltage. pV modules sold commercially range in power output from about 5 watts to 300 watts. pV systems are already part of our lives. The smallest systems power calculators and wristwatches. larger systems provide electricity for water pumps, highway signs, communications equipment, satellites, medical purposes, etc.

Lesson E8 Intro to Renewable Energy:Solar Lab 1

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Lesson E8 Intro to Renewable Energy:Solar Lab 1

There are 3 common types of solar panels:Monocrystalline Solar Panels - solar panels are made from a large crystal of silicon. They look similar to shattered glass and are the most expensive, yet most efficient panels. (efficiency = 18%)

Polycrystalline Solar Panels – These are the most common type of solar panels on the market today. instead of one large crystal, this type of solar panel consists of multiple amounts of smaller silicon crystals. (efficiency = 15%)

Amorphous Solar Panels - amorphous solar panels consist of a thin-like film made from molten silicon that is spread directly across large plates of stainless steel or similar material. (efficiency = 10%)

There are also a number of different solar systems:Stand Alone System - stand-alone solar systems represent about 90% of installed pV power today. stand alone pV systems provide power when and where it is needed, without the need for a utility grid. batteries are included to provide energy storage at night and during cloudy or stormy weather. The solar panel(s) recharge the batteries when average or good weather returns. for most stand alone applications, a pV system is the most cost-effective alternative to providing power. There are over 25,000 homes in california today that are off-grid and powered primarily by photovoltaics.

Grid Tied System - buildings consume vast amounts of energy: over two-thirds of the energy used in the united states goes to heating, cooling, and lighting buildings. photovoltaic materials can be integrated into every building, new or old, to harness the sun’s energy to generate electricity. Grid Tied pV systems are wired into buildings that are connected to the utility grid, hence the term grid tied. energy produced by your pV system can be used directly in your home or business, or if there is an excess, flow out through your meter, providing power to your neighbors.

For the Students:

Activity Worksheet: E8 Solar Design Lab

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ActivityE8 solar design lab

Turn your classroom into a renewable energy lab for the day! ask groups of students to experiment with 1 or more of the activities outlined here:

My Left Side is the Best Anglestudents will experiment with a solar panel to analyze the effects of shadows and tilt on output and efficiency.

divide the class into small groups of 3-4 Give each group a multimeter, protractor, solar panel and alligator clips. noTe: if you are conducting this activity indoors, you may use any bulb 100 Watts or higher..

Effects of Shadows1. using the alligator clips, attach the leads of

the solar panel to a multimeter. Test out how shadows affect the output of your panel. What do you notice?

2. students can shade their panels to varying degrees by covering it with their hands, using a semi-opaque piece of paper or other materials. ask them to record the corresponding power output.

Materials: 3V solar panel, wires with alligator clips, multimeter, protractor, aluminum foil

Objective: Students will...• Measure factors that influence the output of solar energy from a solar panel• create and understand electric circuits

Location: schoolyard, classroom sunny window Time: 1-2 hours depending on activity

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Angle of Panel1. determine the angel of incidence of the sun. To do this, point the solar

panel directly at the sun.

2. hold the panel in place and use a protractor to estimate the angle you have tilted the panel. The angle of incidence should give you the highest output of electricity.

3. now measure other ways of orienting the panel and measure the output at various other angles.

Time of day: daylight savings time?

Angle of incidence:

Reflections: use aluminum foil to reflect light onto the solar panel.

• how does this affect the output?


Angle of Panel Angle of Incidence Amperage measurement

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Part Two: Solar Circuit

students will create a solar circuit in series and in parallel.

To begin have student setup their lab journals for the day:

Make a chart to record: Date, Time and Latitude:

1. using one solar cell connected to a multimeter, determine the power output at different angles. record this in the chart below

2. plot the data you have collected on graph paper. label your x-axis as volts and the y-axis as amps.

3. What is the current?

Power = Amps x Voltage (the amperage is the current)


Materials: 4 solar panel cells, 8 wires with alligator clips, variable resistor, graph paper, cardboard, thermometer, multimeter, protractor, aluminum foil, tape

Angle (Degrees) Voltage (Volts) Current (Amps) Power (watts)

Series Circuit Parallel Circuit

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Series Circuit• hypothesize how the data will change when you put many solar cells together.

• connect four solar panels in series by connecting the positive (usually red) to the negative (usually black) wires to one another to link the panels. You may need help stripping your wires so the copper is exposed. use a multimeter as the final link so you can measure the new arrangement. now measure the output of the system.

• plot the new data on the same graph you created when working with the first solar cell.

• What happened to the amperage in the series circuit?

Parallel Circuits• now switch the way you have wired your solar panels. connect the

positive wires together (red-red) and the negative ends of the copper wire (black-black) together. Measure the output of this system and plot this data.

• Make conclusions about which system, parallel or series, produced higher amperage. Which system seems more efficient?

Voltage (Volts) Current (Amps) Power (watts)

Voltage (Volts) Current (Amps) Power (watts)


Parallel Circuit Series Circuit

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Math Extension: Peak Loads & Power Outagespredicting when a power outage may occur is a perfect example of real-world math in action. energy technicians use modeling and simple calculations to estimate what is called the peak load or demand on the electricity grid. This is a time when it is assumed that a lot of people will be using electricity at the same time. This can sometimes make it difficult to supply electricity to everyone in safe way.

because electricity cannot be effectively stored, electrical networks must instantaneously balance generation and load – the amount of electricity being delivered at a give time. To address this issue, many power utilities have to design for their peak load, which will fluctuate, based on the time of year and location.

• ask students to research when the peak load of electricity will be used where the school is. What time of the year does this happen most often?

• ask students to explore ways in which they could offset this peak load using renewable energy sources. how many pV systems or wind turbines would be needed to offset 10 or 20 percent of the electricity load?

Peak Load (MW) Time of the Year # of Solar Panels (10% offset)

Estimated Cost # of Wind Turbines (10% offset)


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This section outlines a few of the ways people are redesigning the future with renewable or “green” technology.

Making Solar Work:for the greater part of the past quarter century, the solar industry has focused on driving down the price of solar panels and driving up their efficiency. as the price of solar panels decreases, the cost of installation has become an issue. it is estimated that the solar panel installation process can eat up 30 percent or more of the total budget. in response to installation concerns, a host of solar companies are releasing new modular racking systems tailored to different customer segments and roofs.

The Grid will be Smart:The race toward the smart grid is on! smart grids allow customers to easily monitor their energy consumption in real time and provide a two-way access to both using and producing energy for the electrical grid. numerous companies are developing smart grid technologies. These technologies range from consumer metering products to updated substations and infrastructure equipment that will help modify conventional centralized grids to more modern distributed grid systems.

Algae = Energy:a large number of companies are working with algae to determine its feasibility as a biofuel. The science behind algae is fairly simple: algae need water, sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow. using a specialized extraction process, the oil that algae produce can then be harvested and converted into biodiesel. The extraction process can be tricky and expensive, but under the right conditions, algae double their volume overnight and, unlike other biofuel sources like soy or corn, it can be harvested day after day. companies like solix biofuels, are making the process more efficient and betting on this green goo as the future of energy.

Lesson E9 Intro to Renewable Energy: Wind Lab or Solar Lab 2


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Energy Management Systems:energy management systems for buildings are popping up everywhere, from university campuses to large corporate skyscrapers. The idea is pretty simple. The system is basically a comprehensive dashboard tool that helps measure how much energy is being consumed by a building and allows you to adjust parameters to make rooms or areas of the building more efficient. Many companies are getting in on the energy management game, providing a variety of options for energy management using your computer or other simple electronic devices.

Z-10 Concentrated Solar-power System:The Z-10 concentrated solar-power system, designed by ezri Tarazi and ori levin, uses simple mirrors to gather and focus light onto a small, fifteen-square-inch “generator” that converts sunlight into electrical and thermal energy. The overall system is a parabolic optical dish, which serves as a tracker, following the sun from dawn until dusk, much like a sunflower. in april 2009, the first system was installed near Tel aviv, israel.

Hope Solar Tower:solar towers capture solar energy to produce electricity. The hope solar Tower operates by collecting the sun’s radiation, using it to heat a large body of air under an expansive collector zone, which acts as a giant greenhouse. based on the principle that heat rises, this air flows towards the center of the collector through electricity-generating turbines, and then moves up and out of the tower, like a chimney. a single 200-megawatt solar tower is estimated to produce enough electricity to power approximately half a million households, preventing more than one million tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere.

Lesson E9 Intro to Renewable Energy: Wind Lab or Solar Lab 2

For the Students:

Activity Worksheet: E9 Build a Solar Racer/ Build a Wind Turbine

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ActivityE9 build a solar racer/build a Wind Turbine

in this activity section you may choose to do one or both of the projects with your class. each project is an engaging approach to exploring the mechanics and applications of renewable energy. both of these activities require a few specialized materials, readily and affordably available online. depending on where the materials come from, the instructions will vary somewhat, but all materials are accompanied by detailed directions.

Part One: Solar RacerOnline resources for ordering solar racers: Kelvin - http://www.kelvin.com/ pitsco - http://shop.pitsco.com/

The solar racers range in price from $6-$10 per car depending on the size of the order.

Each racer consists of: a wood or plastic flat base, axles, wheels, motor and solar panel. (For most solar racer designs, a glue gun is needed for assembly.)

• You may have one car per students or have students work in groups.

• once the racers are assembled, students may take the cars outside to race them or, if it is cold or cloudy, use a gro-light and test out racers in the classroom.

• be sure to have students measure the output of the racers with multimeters.

Part Two: Wind TurbineOnline resources for ordering wind turbine kits KidWind - http://www.kidwind.org/

The KidWind website offers wind turbine kits accompanied by curriculum and extension activities. The turbine has an led light attached to illustrate the electric output of the turbine. for this particular model, you only need one per class. The turbine contains demonstration blades, and a crimping hub, which contains 12 holes and dowels.

• using the dowels, students design their own blades, testing them for efficiency and output. factors to consider in the design of the blades are:

1. length of blades2. number of blades3. angle of blades4. shape of blades

Directions for constructing horizontally oriented wind turbines out of recycled materials:

• http://www.instructables.com/id/a-paper-plate-and-pop-bottle-savonius-Wind-Turbine/

• http://www.instructables.com/id/cardboard-savonius-turbine/

unless a motor is attached to either of these turbines, you will not be able to measure the output with a multimeter, but they are very good projects for illustrating the concept of wind energy.

Objective: Students will• engage in design projects that employ various methods of renewable energy• experiment with energy output and efficiency of wind and solar energy.

Location: classroom and schoolyard Time: 1-2 hours

Materials: see activity resources.

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Lesson E10 Green TECH Times/Wrap Up

now that you are somewhat of an expert on energy issues and your school’s energy habits, what are you going to do with all of this information? how about starting a class newspaper or magazine to keep people in your community aware and up-to-date on anything energy related, whether it is in your town, your state, the world, or even in your own head?

For the Students:

Activity Worksheet: E10 Green TECH Times

Photo: Patrickneil, Wikimedia Commons

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ActivityE10 Green Tech Times

Getting Started1. creating a newspaper involves a bit of planning. as

a class, sit down and figure out the basics. listed below are a few helpful things to keep in mind:

• how often do you want to produce the paper? (one time only, quarterly, monthly, etc.)

• each person in the class should have a specific job on the paper. This should be figured out as soon as possible. Try to match people’s interests with their jobs (if someone loves reading books, perhaps they can write book reviews) and make sure every job needed for the paper is covered.

• do you want to be specific about your newspaper topic? for example, do you want to cover only things going on in your school or community? do you want to have only creative pieces like stories and drawings about energy?

• When do you want your first issue to go out? Think about deadlines.

2. once you have these basics established, you can get to the fun stuff. have a planning meeting in which everybody brainstorms ideas for the upcoming issues. ideas might include: reporting any energy reduction efforts in the school, profiles of green buildings in your community, tip sheets for how to keep your home energy efficient, interviews with the school custodian or someone from the local power company. perhaps a movie came out

about something energy-related. and don’t forget about comic strips, artwork, and photos. newspapers can’t do without them.

3. now everyone has an assignment and a deadline. one person should take the job of editor, to look over all submissions. The editor is looking for any mistakes as well as making sure the content is appropriate for the newspaper. The editor may make minor changes as needed.

4. layout and printing – it is easiest to layout the newspaper using a computer, but you can do it by hand as well. if no one in your class can do layout on a computer and your teacher cannot do it, then just use the old-fashioned way. unless you have a lot of extra time and money, it is probably easiest (and cheapest) to simply print out your paper from the computer.

5. distribution – how are you going to get your paper out there? Will you give some to teachers, to classrooms, parents? are there any stores near the school where you can leave a few for people to pick up? once you have printed the paper, develop a plan for distribution.

A Final Note: if this does not seem like your cup of tea, you could also try to create a classroom blog. This would function similarly to setting up a newspaper except that it is online. instead of developing a plan for distribution, your consideration would be how to get people to read your blog.

Objective: Students will• create a publication around the theme of energy

Time: Variable Location: classroom

Materials: paper, computer access, camera, artwork

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Amperage: The current, or amount of electrical flow. Measured in amperes (amps).

BTU: British thermal unit – a measure of heat energy.

Building Science: The study of how buildings operate over time. Primarily focuses on the physical systems affecting a building.

Building Performance: A holistic strategy for identifying and fixing problems of energy efficiency in a building.

Building Shell: Exterior, or outer layer of a building.

Carbon Footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by a place, organization, or even a person.

Circuit: A device that provides a path for an electrical current to flow.

Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL): A type of fluorescent light that on average saves 60% on energy consumption compared to a typical incandescent light bulb.

Electricity: A form of energy: The flow of electrons along a conductor.

Energy: The capacity to do work.

Energy efficiency: To reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services.

Energy Star: A joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping to save money and protect the environment through the use of energy efficient products and practices.

Fossil Fuels: Minerals and elements found in the Earth that were formed over millions of years and contain stored energy. Common fossil fuels include coal, oil and natural gas.

Geothermal Energy: Harnessing energy using the temperature difference between the earth’s surface and crust.

Grid System: A network through which suppliers distribute electricity to consumers.

Heat: Energy created from a difference in temperature. Also called thermal energy.

Hydroelectric: Electricity generated from water.

Magnetism: A force by which objects are repelled or attracted to each other.

Multimeter: An electronic instrument used to measure electrical quantities.

Power Plant: A facility that generates electricity, usually by burning a fossil fuel.

Photovoltaics: Photo = light and voltaics = electricity. A scientific term for solar panels, which convert the sun’s light energy into electricity.

Renewable Energy: Energy generated from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat; resources that are naturally replenished or infinite.

Solar constant: The amount of incoming solar radiation per unit area.

Transformer: A device by which electricity is changed from low voltage to high voltage.

Voltage: Rate at which energy flows. Measured in volts.

Watt: A unit of power. Also, kilowatt (kW) 1000 watts = 1 kW.)

Wave Energy: Creating energy from the motion of oceanic currents and waves.

Wind turbine: Wind turbines use wind energy to rotate a turbine that creates electricity.

Vocabulary


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Resources & Additional Information

Field Trips Ideas• any opportunities to get out of the classroom and see real-world

application should be taken!

• here are a few suggestions for possible field trips.

1. Tour of a power plant – contact your local energy provider. They will often give tours of facilities to small groups.

2. look for local green buildings or buildings using renewable energy and find out if you can bring the class on a tour.

3. if you live in an area where fossil fuels are collected (i.e. near oil rigs or coal mines), ask if the class can visit the processing or storage facilities.

Green Dashboardsetting up a Green dashboard in your school can be a great way to get parents and the community involved in the process. it is simple to arrange and easy to maintain. be sure to outline benchmark goals and call a lot of attention to them when you achieve success.

Guest SpeakersGuest speakers are always a great idea, as people are usually pretty enthusiastic about coming to talk with students. it also puts somewhat abstract concepts into a more real context to have people working in the field come discuss their work.

an easy, but very important guest speaker would be someone from the school custodial staff. You can arrange a Q and a with the custodian, in which students prepare questions ahead of time as they gather information about the school building.

another possible guest speaker might be someone from your local energy provider. Most places have a public relations department and are more than happy to send someone out to schools.

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Green Careers Job FairThis applies particularly to high school students. There are a number of emerging green career fields, as well as existing job sectors that have been “greened.” students may research a particular field and what kind of credentials or education it requires. You may also bring in guest speakers and organizations working in these areas to talk with students about career possibilities.

Moviesif you are absent one day and have a substitute or you find that the class has a free day, there are a number of good energy-related films you can show the class. Two recommended documentaries are:

• Gasland - a film about the dire consequences of the natural gas extraction process called hydraulic fracturing.

• Fuel - a film that explores america’s addiction to oil.

School Wide Greening Projectif students want to take further action on greening the school, work with a group to develop a larger school project that does not only take place in the classroom. You may want to work with an after school club or a committee. school wide projects have a broad range depending on the individual needs and wants of your school as well as the exact situation of your school. Greening projects in the past have included converting an unused courtyard into a green classroom, starting a recycling club, school garden, and putting plants in every classroom to improve air quality. anything goes!

Online ResourcesKidWind - http://www.kidwind.org/

sells kits for building wind turbines as well as some solar materials

Kelvin - http://www.kelvin.com/

educational science supplier, sells reasonably priced solar race car kits

Resources & Additional Information

notes.

The Green design lab™ is a curriculum resource and guide for making your school a healthy and green place to work and learn.

using a creative approach to problem solving and sustainability education, the Green design lab™ uses your school building as a laboratory for hands-on learning about green technologies, design process, engineering and applied science.

The goal is to help students make connections between the buildings we use every day and their ecological footprint. complete with an adaptable array of lesson plans, projects and ideas, the Green design lab™ is a starting point for thinking about sustainability in your school and local community.

The Green design lab™ is also a great way to introduce students to the emerging fields of green jobs, providing opportunities to learn practical skills ranging from building performance to urban farming.

The energy unit engages students in an investigation of energy production and consumption at their school. This guide offers lesson plans beginning with the science of electricity and moving into methods for energy conservation and renewable energy exploration.

Founding Sponsors

• The Schmidt Family Foundation 11th Hour Project

• JC Kellogg Foundation

• HSBC Bank USA, N.A.

• Consolidated Edison Company

• Mertz Gilmore Foundation

Solar One would like to thank our partners:

• NYC Department of Education School Facilities

• The Department of Citywide Administrative Services Division of Energy Management

• Make Me Sustainable

• Colgate-Palmolive Company

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green design lab - PS 33 CHELSEA PREP

Documents

Transcript of green design lab - PS 33 CHELSEA PREP