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Saving energy in schools and making energy efficiency a lesson for students is fundamental in shaping a new generation of energy efficiency leaders.

Next Generation's Leaders

Nationwide, schools spend $8 billion per year on energy. To lessen the economic blow and influence the next generation of leaders, the Alliance uses a variety of educational programs to reach students.

PowerSave Schools and the PowerSave Campus Program

Through basic changes in operations, maintenance and individual behavior, PowerSave Schools has reduced energy use by 5-15% among participating schools. PowerSave Schools also encourages students to apply the lessons of energy efficiency in their homes and communities.

The PowerSave Campus Program is leading the way toward green careers and campus sustainability by growing the next generation of energy efficiency professionals.Through PowerSave Campus, students save energy on their campuses by conducting educational outreach; infusing energy conservation and efficiency into course curricula; and implementing projects targeting energy use, student purchasing decisions and operational changes.

Because even the youngest members of a household can be stewards for energy efficiency, the Alliance's mischievous Energy Hog teaches kids about ways they, and their parents, can practice energy efficiency at home.

The Formation of Fossil Fuels

October 2, 2008

In this activity, students will learn about renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy and display this knowledge on a graphic organizer. Also, students will investigate how much fossil fuel we have and how much we use.

Adapted from the NY Energy Education Project

Overview:

This lesson helps students see their role in our national consumption of energy. It includes a look at the energy contained in all the things we use - from crayons to packaging.

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

  • Extract relevant information from the reading material
  • Measure accurately and show information on a scale
  • Perform basic division problems

Students will understand:

Summertime, Soda, and Solar Energy - Insulating to Keep Heat in or Out

October 3, 2008

In this lesson, students will compare different insulating materials for their abilities to keep heat in/out, determine the best material for insulating against heat loss/gain, and explain the importance of insulating homes.

Many parts of the country experience large changes in temperature from season to season. But human comfort demands a fairly constant temperature in homes and work places throughout the year. In cold weather, this means preventing the escape of heat to the outdoors. In hot weather, it means blocking the invasion of heat from the outdoors.

Window Treatments for Energy Savings

October 4, 2008

In this activity, students will investigate the patterns of heat (radiation, conduction, convection) in the classroom and learn how windows affect a room's comfort. Also, students will find out how to treat windows from the inside to make them more energy efficient.

If you’ve ever stood by a window on a sunny day or a cold night, then you know that windows have a lot to do with how comfortable your home feels. Heat moves from warmer to colder areas. Heat will enter through a window on a warmer day but escape through a window on a cold night.

Lesson Plan: The Appliance Explosion (4-10)

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The Appliance Explosion.pdf
A row of appliances
October 5, 2009

In this activity, students will discover the number and kinds of appliances they have their homes today, and compare this information with the appliances an adult had in his/her home a generation ago. This comparison should help students understand the important role that energy plays in their life, and why energy demand has increased so much in the last twenty years.

Adapted from the NY Energy Education Project

Essential question: How can we apply what we learned by exploring our school, homes and other buildings within the community? How has appliance use changed over time?

Overview

Students collect data on the number of appliances owned by students and adults, and construct a bar graph to show changes in appliance use over time.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

PowerSave Schools Program

PowerSave Schools Alliance to Save Energy

The Alliance’s PowerSave Schools Program empowers students to make a difference in the way their schools use energy. Energy costs are an enormous expense for U.S. schools – approximately $6 billion each year. In many schools, energy costs are second only to personnel costs, exceeding the cost of textbooks and supplies. What's worse, much of the consumed energy at schools is actually wasted.

Overview: 
Click to view the Green Schools Road Map

PowerSave Schools students are educated about energy and the importance of energy efficiency, as well as trained to use a diagnostic toolkit that assesses the energy usage in their school. The school building becomes a learning lab for students to apply science, math and even language arts to solve a global problem.

Through basic changes in operations, maintenance and individual behavior, schools participating in the PowerSave Schools Program have achieved reductions in energy use of 5 to 15 percent. In addition, the PowerSave Schools Program encourages and equips students to promote the lessons of energy efficiency in their homes and communities.

The PowerSave Schools Program started in 1996 and currently is active in California, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida and Washington, D.C. Funding for the program comes from utility companies, municipalities and school systems.

If you are interested in energy efficiency education, check out our Energy Hog program. If you are a current PowerSave Schools participant, check out PowerSaveSchoolsNational.com.

PowerSave Campus

PowerSave Campus

Currently on 23 universities and employing over 100 interns each year, PowerSave Campus empowers college students to be tomorrow's energy efficiency leaders.

Overview: 

PowerSave Campus is a student-driven energy efficiency education program that promotes careers in the field, generates actual energy savings, increases awareness of the importance of energy efficiency, and encourages academic infusion of sustainability concepts.

Projects range from energy audits and assessments, residential and laboratory energy competitions, intern-led and faculty sponsored academic courses, green career fairs, and energy efficiency technology retrofits.

PowerSave Campus interns work closely with faculty, staff, administrators and other students to engage them in their projects, spearheading educational campaigns that involve the entire campus community.

More than four-fifths of the college student interns who participate in the Alliance's PowerSave Campus program go on to get jobs that support sustainability. In fact, 83% of PowerSave Campus graduates currently hold a "green job," defined as work that contributes substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality. Furthermore, 98% of PowerSave Campus alumni continue to support sustainability after graduating from the program.

Learn more about the program and participating campuses

Energy-Efficient Homes

August 14, 2004

Students will analyze the factors that influence the energy efficiency of a home design, including site analysis, home orientation, configuration, envelope, space planning, ventilation, heating, cooling, lighting and appliances, water heating, and waste management.

Adapted from the Tennessee Valley Authority

Overview

Walks students through the process of building a model home while considering 11 parameters that influence energy use, such as building orientation, room configuration, building envelope, and energy systems (heating, cooling, lighting, etc.).

Objectives

The students will be able to:

Communications Program

Through online outreach, strong media ties and consumer campaigns, the Alliance informs consumers, policymakers and business leaders about the importance of energy efficiency.

Overview: 

The team's extensive media reach and reliable reputation helps put the energy efficiency message into wide circulation to inform audiences through a variety of news media, including newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations. And through public service announcements, social media and grassroots efforts, the Communications team mobilizes consumers through national energy efficiency campaigns. 

The team also runs the Living Efficiently website, a resource for consumers to save money and energy through energy efficiency.

Measuring the Number Of Calories In Sunlight

April 8, 2008

In this lesson, students will determine the amount of heat available from the sun in his/her area, compare the absorption of solar energy among different collectors, and offer explanations for discrepancies between the data collected and the solar constant.

 

Objectives

The student will do the following:

  1. Define calorie.
  2. Determine the amount of heat available from the sun in his/her area.
  3. Compare the absorption of solar energy by three different collectors
  4. Define the solar constant
  5. Offer several explanations for discrepancies between the data collected and the solar constant.

Subjects

General Science, Physical Science, Environmental Science

Time

Two class periods

Topics: Education
Programs: PowerSave Schools Program
Resource Type: Lesson Plans

Generate Your Own Hydropower

September 16, 2007

In this activity, students will generate their own hydropower - demonstrating how water power is coverted to electricity.

Objectives

The student will do the following:

  1. Build a water wheel.
  2. Build a simple galvanometer.
  3. Build a simple hydropower generator
  4. Detect the electricity generated
  5. Demonstrate how water power is converted to electricity.

Subjects

Advanced General Science, Physical Science, Physics

Time

1-2 class periods if working in groups of four; 2-3 class periods if working in groups of two

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