Real Projects High School Handbook

8/9/2019 Real Projects High School Handbook

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Watt Watchers is a free, state-sponsoredprogram to help schools save energy and moneyby getting students involved. Students patrol their

school looking for empty classrooms with thelights on. They turn out the lights and leave aticket for the tea c her. It ma y sound trivialbutwhen the teacher forgets to turn out thelights an extra 2 hours per day, at lunch and afterschool, for example it costs the district $50every year. Watt Watchers also expand on thisbasic p rojec t in many ways - - see deta ils inside.

Watt Watchers of TexasUniversity of Texas at El Paso Energy Center

P.O. Box 68660El Paso, Texas 79968

Toll Free Phone and Fax: 1-888-US-WATTS e-mail:info@wattwa tchers.org Internet: http://wattwatchers.org

...and do real energy projects.

and

prev

entp

ollutio

n.

savemoney,

Saveenergy,

I dare you to step up...


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www. wattwatchers.orgE-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 1-888-US WATTSFax 1-888-US WATTS

The Energy CenterThe University of Texas at El Paso

P.O. Box 68660El Paso, Texas 79968

Sponsored by:

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts,State Energy Conservation Office,U.S. Department of Energy

Real ProjectsReal Results

Real World

with

in the

An Energy Project Handbookfor High School Groups


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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,

committed citizens can change the world, indeed

its the only thing that ever has.Margaret Mead

Anthropologist


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RRRRReal Projects with Real Projects w ith Real Projects with Real Projects w ith Real Projec ts with Real Real Real Real Real Results in the Results in the Results in the Results in the Results in the Real Weal Weal Weal Weal Worldorldorldorldorld

An Energy Project Handbook for High School GroupsAn Energy Project Handbook for High School GroupsAn Energy Project Handbook for High School GroupsAn Energy Project Handbook for High School GroupsAn Energy Project Handbook for High School Groups

TTTTT A B L E O F C O N T E N T SA B L E O F C O N T E N T SA B L E O F C O N T E N T SA B L E O F C O N T E N T SA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Introduction 8

Watt Watchers of Texas Student Energy Patrols 9

Alternative Watt Watchers of Texas Program for High Schools 11

Mentoring a Watt Watchers of Texas Program in Your Feed er Schools 12

Track Your Schools Monthly Energy Savings 13

Portable Posse Patrols 13

Sleep is Good 14

Lighting Audit 16

Exit Sign Audit 17

Vending Machine Audit 18

Overnight & Weekend Meter Audits 19

Kill-A-Watt Audits 19

Weatherization 20

Host a Junior Solar Sprint Race 21

Start and Maintain a Paper Recycling Program 22Start and Maintain Other Recycling Programs 24

Host an Energy Encounter 25

Make a Presentation on School Energy Efficiency 26

Ask Local Energy Professionals In Your Area To Sp eak at Your School 27

Oil Recycling Project 27

Leaky Faucet Alerts 28

Fax Facts 28

RRRRR e a l P r o j e c t se a l P r o j e c t se a l P r o j e c t se a l P r o j e c t se a l P r o j e c t s


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Energy Week 30

Adopt a Highway 30

Automobile Efficiency Mini Lessons 31

Student Automobile Efficiency Day 31Checking for Oil Leaks 33

Organize an Alternative Transportation Day 33

Carpool Days 33

Energy Announcements, Posters, Marquee Signs and Disp lay Cases 34

Toilet Times Stall Newsletters With Energy Tips 34

Light Sw itch Covers 35

Computer Monitor Reminder Cards 35

Unplug The Extras During Long Breaks 36

Posters/Banners About School Energy Use 37Energy Independence Declaration 37

Solar Cooking Demonstrations 39

Solar Cookout 39

Earth Day Celebration 40

Recycled Art Contest 40

Campus Beautification Project 41

Participate in Energy Awareness Month 42

Write Letters To Local And State Officials 42

Write Articles For Watts News 43Host an Energy Science Fair 43

Survey Your School To Determine Its Energy IQ 43

Americas Most Wanted Energy Wasters 44

Distribute Know ledge is Power at Your School 45

Read Your Meter 45

Share Your Project w ith Watt Watchers of Texas 46

S h o rS h o rS h o rS h o rS h o r t a n d S i m p l e P r o j e c t st a n d S i m p l e P r o j e c t st a n d S i m p l e P r o j e c t st a n d S i m p l e P r o j e c t st a n d S i m p l e P r o j e c t s


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Watt Watcher s of Texas Staff

Co-Edit or s:Kirstin Wilsey and Amy Neblett

I l lu str ator a n d Ar t Dir ector :Salvador Saenz

Contr ibutors :Gwen Pratt and Steve Cook

!

!


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Real ProjectsReal Results

Real World

with

in the

An Energy Project Handbookfor High School Groups


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IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction

Real Projects with Real Results in the Real WReal Projects with Real Results in the Real WReal Projects with Real Results in the Real WReal Projects with Real Results in the Real WReal Projects with Real Results in the Real Worldorldorldorldorld

FFFFFrom w orking with students all across Texas over the years, the staff of Watt Watchers

has discovered that student leaders are highly capable and highly motivated.They can make things happen. They do no t hesitate to challenge the status quo.

And , contrary to conventional w isdom, adults listen to what they say. Yes, yoursmall group of dedicated students can make a big difference in your school andcommunity.

Watt Watchers wants to support strong, self-sufficient, patriotic, and p lucky studentsacross Texas who are ready to roll up their sleeves and use their can-do attitudes tohelp save energy for their schools. This handbook has descriptions of dozens ofenergy projects for you to consider. Now you can flip through a w ide variety ofprojects to pick and choose the ones that fit your school and community.

It is important for student groups to consider some challenging projects along withthe short and simple ones. You can take it up a notch and do projects that w ill saveyour school district thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.Watt Watchers challenges you to do one major project each semester and to doone short and simple project per month. We dare you to go b eyond the usualexpectations for students. Be like Rosie. Yall Can Do It! In fact, we double-d og-dare you to do tw o major energy projects each semester and two short and simpleprojects every month. Because we know Yall Can Do It! Just like Rosie, you w illexceed expectations and change some old ideas.

As you do your projects and impress your school and community be sure to keepin touch with Watt Watchers. We want to celeb rate your success by including anarticle about your pro ject in the next Watts News. Other schools across Texas wantto know whats working and how you did it.

Send us stories about your new idea for a project and how you d id it. We willpublish it and include them in the next ed ition of Real Projects with Real Results in theReal World. Take credit for your original ideas and spread goo d project ideas tomany other schools. Check our website and CD-ROM for upd ates to the handbookbetween printings.

Call or e-mail us if you need help with any of your projects. We can do it.


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WWWWWatt Watt Watt Watt Watt Watchers of Tatchers of Tatchers of Tatchers of Tatchers of Teeeeexasxasxasxasxas

Student EnerStudent EnerStudent EnerStudent EnerStudent Energy Pgy Pgy Pgy Pgy Patrolsatrolsatrolsatrolsatrols

Watt Watchers of Texas is done by stud ents all across the state from Kindergarten to 12 th grade. Wecurrently have over 3000 programs in Texas schools is yours one o f them?

Here are some step s you should take in setting upyour p rogram:

1. Contact Watt Watchers and get enrolled!You w ill receive a free kit that gives you allthe supplies you need to run a successfulpatrol. We also p rovide free support toyour program so if at any point during thesetup process you need help justgive us a call at 1-888-USWATTS!

2. Get supp ort fromthe administration.Set up a meetingwith youradministrators anddiscuss the WattWatchers program andhow it is going to benefit yourschool. If you need help in thisarea we have support

information from otherschools that we can sharewith you.

3. Present the p rogramto the teachers andstaff at your school.The whole schoolparticipates in WattWatchers and it is veryimportant to inform everyone from

teachers and administrators to custodiansand volunteers. Tickets are reminders tohelp people establish energy efficienthabits. Enthusiastic and supportive staffmakes it more fun and more effective.

4. Choose the students to b e on the WattWatchers Patrol. This program is successfulat any grade level and w ith diverse studentpopulations including at risk, learningdisabled, special education, and gifted andtalented . Being a memb er of the WattWatchers Patrol could provide recognition

to students who rarely receiveop p ortunities fo r lead ership. The

younger the students, the more

supervision needed.The students must w antto participate and be

able to carry out the tasksconsistently and honorably.

5. D e v e l o pprocedures for your

build ing. Where, whenand how of ten will the

Watt Watchers patrol?

Which rooms andareas w ill beincluded ? Will anyareas be off limits?Do you want to

include doors,windows, ceiling fans,

computers or otherenergy gob blers? How w ill

the bathrooms, stage areas,teachers work room, offices and closets

be handled? Where will the Watt Watcherspatrols p ick up their supp lies? These areall things that you will need to decidebefore setting up your team of patrols.


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6. Set up your Patrol Team. Get excited !! Thegoals are to help the school reduce energywaste (save money) and to teach everyone in the school to be energy efficient(change b ehavio r). It w o uld b eapprop riate to d iscuss energy prod uction,fossil fuels, consumption, pollution, wasteand high cost while introducing theprogram. Invite them to count the lightbulbs in one room and multiply it by thenumber of rooms in the school, then addother schools, cities and the whole state!The Watt Watchers of Texas program isbased on the idea that each p erson makesa contribution by helping reduce waste.Energy efficiency benefits people, theschool, community, state and planet.

7. Sign Contracts. Being a member of the WattWatchers of Texas program is a privilegeand a responsibility to be taken seriously.Sponsors may want to use the contractsp rovided in your ki t. The co ntractunderscores the importance of being onthe team and is a reminder of duties w hichstudents must p erform.

8. Secret Mission. Shhh. It is time to go onyour first mission. Watt Watchers suggestmaking this mission a secret. The

secret mission will allow you tosee how much the program isneeded in your school. On thismission you will be able to showthe students how to do theprogram without passing out thetickets or thank you notes; youw ill just mark the check sheet.This will give you an idea ofwhich classrooms are going to

need the most help inremembering to turn the lightsout!

9. Get started and keep going. Intercomannouncements, such as Watt Watchersare Watching! arouse the interest beforepatrols begin. An assembly to introducethe other students to the program can behelpful. Inform the media. Support fromthe principal keeps interest high: occasionalannouncements of Watt Watchers patrolresults; recognition of rooms/grade levelswhich have good records; bulletin boarddisplays; energy efficiency competitionsbetween areas; special notes or privilegesfor w inners; and pats on the b acks for thepatrols and staff are little things w hich makesuccessful programs.

10. Have questions, need assistance or morematerials? Call 1-888-USWATTS or email

info@w attw atchers.org we would love tohelp you w ith your program! Get a WattWatchers Manual for even moreinformation.


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There are many High School Watt Watchers of Texasprograms that find it difficult to patrol on a daily

basis due to the program being run by anextracurricular group like Student Council orScience Clubs. Watt Watchers has developed aw ay to make it w ork in that High School setting.

Yo ur Watt Watche rs p ro gram b ec o mes anawareness program for your campus and goesbeyond turning off the lights. Watt Watchers wouldlike these student groups to do a monthly patrolto see where they stand each month on energyw aste are there lights being left on? Are p eople

changing their behaviors?

With a monthly patrol your student group will beencouraged to put up signs on light switches toremind teachers/students to turn the lights outw hen they leave the room these signs should

Alternative Watt Watchers of Texas

Program for High Schools

be changed monthly so that it continues to catchthe attention of the occupant. The signs can be

recycled from month to month b y simply laminatingthem and adhering them to the w all or light sw itch.

We w ould also like you to post your findings in theschool. Give the occupants some feedback onw hat you are d iscovering during your p atrol time.Percentage of lights left on, percentage of lightsleft off, money saved by the amount off, moneywasted by the amount left on these are all greatexamples of how you can make your occupantsaware of the energy used/w asted on your campus.

Put a dollar amount to it let the occupants ofyour school know how much it costs to poweryour school every month. The amount alw aysamazes peop le. Chart the decrease in moneyspent on energy since the implementation o f yourprogram. Get the word out on energy makeeveryone aware of it.


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Watt Watchers of Texas w ants your help in gettingall the schools in your d istrict w atching watts! The

best way for everyone to be eliminating energyw aste in their scho ol district is to make sure thatthe schools that feed into your school are busyw atching watts. It is simple, free and fun for highschool students to go to the middle schools andelementary schools in your district and share themessage about Watt Watchers, take the studentson their first patrol and then check up on themfrom time to time to make sure they are giving outtickets to those energy wasters and thanking theZero Heroes in their schools.

Follow these 5 simple steps to get your feederschools started today:

1. Contact a teacher. Did you have a favoriteteacher in the elementary school andmiddle school that you went to beforecoming to your high school? Is that teacherstill teaching at that school? Or is there ascience c lub o r other organization in themiddle or elementary school that isinterested in doing energy projects?Contact that teacher; inform him or herabo ut the Watt Watchers o f Texasprogram.

2. Contact Watt Watchers for a kit. Thekits are free and every school thatparticipates in Watt Watchers needs tohave a complete kit. Call or email us andwe will ship a kit for each school whereyou are implementing a program.

3. Set up a time to meet the new WattWatchers. Coordinate a time with the newWatt Watchers of Texas sponsor. Go to thefeeder school and teach the studentsabout the new p rogram. Help them comeup with ways to teach the other students,teachers and administrators about this new

program at their school. One great idea isto do a skit about the program during an

assembly - this allow s everyone to learnabout the program, have fun and beexcited about the energy saving programthat is starting at the school.

4. Go on Patrol. Be there to take the youngerstudents on their first Watt Watchers patrol.Help them design their route and make surethey are marking their charts and giving outtickets and thank you notes. Remind thestudents to keep the charts in a file so thatthey can award the Zero Hero Award at

the end of the school year to the teacherthat wasted the least amount of energy!

5. Stay in Touch. It is very important that youcontact the feeder

school tom a k e

sure

that their program is running smoothly andanswer any questions they might have. WattWatchers would also like to know how youand your mentoring schools are doing soplease send us an update on your program!

Mentoring a Watt Watchers of Texas

Program in Your Feeder Schools


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Track Your Schools

Monthly Energy Savings

Your school gets an electricity b ill justlike your parents receive at

home every month.The main difference inthe two bills is thatyour school selectricity bil l isprobably real ly

huge. Nationally, allthe schools in the

United States spendo ver $6 Billion dollars per yearon energy. Thats more than is spent onbooks and computers combined. An average U.S.school uses $4,500 per month and large highschools can have electricity bills of $30,000 permonth. The average spent on energy for eachstudent is $115 each year. How much would thatbe at your school?Students, teachers and administrators need torealize the amount of funds that are spent on utilitiesin your scho ol. Stud ies have been d one onproviding feedback to energy users. They indicatethat when peo ple know how much they are usingthey tend to save energy (prob ably because they

are thinking about it rather than operating onautomatic pilot.) A good w ay to illustrate energyuse on your campus is by posting a large bannerw ith a chart of your schools energy use. Chartthe dollars of energy used each month. Contactyour Energy Manager and ask him/her for a copyof the energy bills.

Once you implement Watt Watchers we wouldlike you to track your schools energy savings andit is a very simple task. Compare current energy

use (since you have implemented Watt Watchers)to energy use a year before you started WattWatchers. The data may not compare directly ifthe seasons w ere significantly d ifferent for the twoyears. Ask your Energy Manager about adjustingfor w eather d ifferences. Chart the bills from lastyear and this year and post them in your schoolfoyer (or another highly visible place) so thateveryone can see the energy savings that youare achieving by simply reducing energy waste.

Portable

Posse Patrols

Portable c lassrooms can also be know n as EnergyGobblers. Because most of the portable buildings

at schools are temporary classrooms they are notconnected to the main Energy Managementsystem, which means that each portable occup antis responsible for his or her own thermostat andlighting. Many times these systems are left o n atnight and o ver the weekends. Not only are theyforgotten about but portables normally are not w ellinsulated w hich all combines to create a hugewaste of energy.

A Portable Posse Patrol could help eliminate that

w aste by checking the po rtables at the end of theschool day and before the weekends to make surethe thermostats, lights, TVs, computers, and otherequipment are turned off.


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To imp lement co mputer monitor p o w ermanagement in your school, you need to have a

few things ready. First, familiarize yourself w ith theEZ Wizard p rogram. This program, written by DaveEnsign at The Department of Energy, makes enablingmonitor pow er management easy and hassle free.Practice imp lementing it on your home computeror a computer at schoo l and you w ill see just howeasy it is to implement. Just double click theprogram, it runs, reads your current settings,suggests new settings (or lets you know that yoursettings are set correctly already) and 30 secondslater, you are done. If you double click it again,

you have the opportunity to change the settingsback to their original state.

So, lets get started!!1. Always get permission from your sponsor or

teacher in your school and from the schoolprincipal.

2. Announce the program in your school.a. Thoroughly explain the program to the

faculty and student body.b. Explain that the monitor is all that w ill go to

sleep and to wake it up, just move themouse or tap a key and within a fewseconds, the monitor will wake up.

3. Find out how many computers there are inyour school.

a. Figure out how long the p roject should takeassuming that each computer will takeapproximately 30-60 seconds toimplement.

4. Let your teacher know how much time youwill need to complete this project and workout an appropriate schedule.

5. Make sure you have all the materials neededto complete this project.a. The Disk or CD with EZ Wizard on it.b . The Freq uently A sked Q uestions

provided to you on your CD or disk.i. This w ill ensure that you are w ell

equipped to deal with a teacher oradministrator that does not see thebenefits of EZ Wizard.

c. The Fact sheets to show how much moneyEZ Wizard w ill save fo r your school.

i. The on-line calculator is especially helpfulwhen figuring monetary savings foryour schools. (http://

w w w . e n e r g y s t a r . g o v / powermanagement)d. Bring the Watt Watcher handouts that

illustrate manual implementation of powermanagement for those teachers thatw ould rather do it themselves. (See theWatt Watchers website for more

information: http://wattwatchers.org/newwwsite/sig.htm)

6.Do not forget your p ledge form.a. Watt Watchers p ledged to help K-12

schools implement powermanagement on 100,000computers across Texas. Help us byfilling out your pledge and faxing itto us at 1-888 US WATTS. Send ingin your pledges w ill ensure that w erecognize you and your school foryour efforts during our 100,000Monitor Pledge in Texas.

Sleep is Good


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Watt Watc hers 200,000 Moni tor P ledge Form for :Ener gy Sta rMil l ion Moni t or Dr ive Pledge

____________________(name of organization) is commited to saving energy and

protecting the environment through computer monitor power management. With our

pledge, ___________________ (name of organization) joins Energy Star in its quest to

activate power management on one million computer monitors nation wide. We

recognize the significant financial (over $30 million/year), energy (over 400 millionkWyh/year), and environmental (over 300,000 tons of avoided CO

2emission/year)

savings achievable through setting one million monitors to enter a low-power sleep

mode during periods of inactivity.

We pledge to enable power management features on ___________ (enter amount)

monitors organiztion-wide by _________________(enter month), 200___ (enter year)

Information Technology Representative

Energy Efficiency Representative

Date

Date

Watt Watchers will return this form to:

Watt Watchers of Texas

UTEP-Energy CenterP.O. Box 68660

El Paso, Tx 79968Phone/Fax: 1-888 US WATTS

Http://wattwatchers.orgSaving Energy in Texas Schools

Robert Huang

The Cadmus Group, Inc.(Energy Star Technical Support Contractor)

Please return this form to:


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It is a relatively simple task to count the lightingfixtures (usually called luminaires) in a single

classroo m. How ever, it is sometimes harder toknow what is behind the diffusing panel (usuallycalled the lens). A typ ical Texas classroo m willhave about 9 luminaires with four bulbs inside.

There is more than one w ay to find out w hat kindof bulbs your classroo m has. You could ask eitherthe custodian (w ho changes them when they burnout) or the district energy manager. Or you couldinvestigate inside one of the luminaires in yourclassroom.

The bulbs will have information identifying themprinted on the glass at one end . For example, youmay see F40T12CW printed on the bulbs. It soundscomplicated but is really simple it is just in ashorthand code.

F stands for fluorescent, 40 represents the w attageof the bulb, T stands for tubular, 12 rep resents thed iameter of the tube (in eighths of an inch, or 1-1/

2 inches in this case ) and CW designates the colortemp erature of the lamp (Cool White, in this case).This is the standard bulb found in classroo ms todaybut it is yesterdays technology and definitely onits w ay out. It is the least efficient choice availab lebut may have a cheaper first cost than otheroptions. New installations are very likely to havemuch higher efficiency co mponents.

Your class can calculate the lighting use w ith severallevels of efficiency:

Standard F40T12 w ith magnetic ballastsw ith no concern for use

Standard F40T12 w ith Watt Watchers (2hrs/day saved)

Upgrade to F32T8 with electronic ballasts

Each classroom is assumed to have 9 four footlight fixtures with four fluorescent tubes each (oran equivalent). Such a fixture requires 192 Watts

of electricity (4 tubes at 40 Watts each plus 20%for ballasts). The school year is assumed to last

180 days. Electricity is assumed to cost $0.08 (8cents) per kilowatt hour (kWh). Two hours perday was chosen based on a teacher leaving theclassroom at lunch for one hour and one otherhour during the day (for example, preparationperiod, recess, the first hour after school).

If conditions differ at your school it is easy torecalculate your specific costs. The costs w ill stillbe huge at half this amount. If half of the teachersin the United States remembered to turn out the

lights on their way to lunch (just one hour per d ay)it would save $34 MILLION dollars every year. Howmany scho larships w ould that be? How manyclassroo ms are in your district? Can your schooldistrict afford an extra $25 to $50 per classroomevery year? Wouldnt you rather spend the moneyon books or supplies for your class?

9 fixtures x 192W = 1728 W x 2 hours x 180days = 622,080 / 1000 W = 622 kWh

(to convert to kilow att hours)622 kWh x $0.08 = $49.76

Standard F40T12 w ith magnetic ballasts use 192Wper 4 foot 4 lamp fixture while producing 3050lumens with a color rendering index of 73.

New F32T8 w ith electronic b allasts use as little as101W per 4 foot 4 lamp fixture while producingthe same 3050 lumens w ith a higher co lor

rendering index (CRI-85).

Go through your school and do a lighting audit.When you are finished pass the repo rt on to youradministrators and explain to them the savings thatcan be incurred by doing a lighting retrofit project.

Lighting Audit


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If it seems like there are exit signs everyw here, itsbecause theres an estimated 100 million exit signs

in the United States consuming between 30 and35 BILLION kWh of energy each year. Most useincandescent bulbs, which use large amounts ofenergy and require more maintenance.

The typ ical exit sign w ith incandescent bulbs uses2 - 20 watt bulbs. The signs are lit 24 hours a dayand 365 days a year.

Lets do the math for a single sign.

2 X 20 watts = 40 w atts X 24 hours = 960 w att

hours

960 X 365 d ays per year = 350,400 w att hours

Electricity is b illed by the amount o f kilow att hours(kWh) used and the national average cost is $0.08per kWh (adjust this co st for your school/business)

To co nvert w att hours to kilow att hours (kWh),d ivide w att hours by 1,000.

350,400 watt hours divided by 1,000 = 350.4kWhX $0.08 per kWh = $28.03

Now lets look at the other costs.

The incandescent bulbs cost approximately $3.00each and the sign has 2 bulbs.

2 X $3 = $6

The bulbs have to be replaced an average of 3times each year. 3 X $6 = $18

The bulbs dont replace themselves so we have

to add the labor cost.

Figure 1/2 hour per change or $10 labor perchange X 3 = $30

Our annual total cost now includes:

Electricity costs = $28.03

Bulb cost = $18

Labo r = $30

Total = $ 76.03 p er year for 1 sign

How many signs are in yourschool? In your district?Count them and prepare areport to be submitted tothe principal, your energymanager, otheradministrators, or theschool board.

Exit Sign Audits


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Its basically a refrigerator, disguised as a vendingmachine. In exchange for your money, its

supposed to provide cold drinks and its prettyreliable at doing just that. Now, if thats all it did,there would be no need for this page, so if youreguessing that theres an energy problem - youreright.

Lets go back to looking at this machine as arefrigerator. Besides the obvious difference: thatthis refrigerator requires you to deposit money,the b ig difference is that w hen a refrigerator dooris closed, the light is supposed to go off. In thiscase tho ugh, the light stays on (the one lighting up

the display advertisement on the front of themachine). It stays on 24 hours a day, and w erenot talking about a little appliance light bulb here.

Most cold drink machines are lit up from floor toceiling. The typical lights used in newer machinesare 6' long fluorescent (two bulbs) with acombined wattage of 170 watts (2-T-12 highoutput). Add another 20% for the energy requiredby the ballast and w ere up to 204 w atts.

Now the math!

204 watts X 24 hours = 4896 X 365 days/year =1,787,040 watt hours.

1,787,040 - Divided by 1000 = 1787.04 kWh

(Watts d ivided by 1,000 = kilow att hours w hich ishow you are billed)

1787.04 X $0.08 (national average cost per kWh)= $142.96

(Your actual cost d epends on your electric rate.)$143 just to light up the vend ing machine. Ac tuallythe purpose isnt to provide light but to advertisea product.

Who pays this $143 advertising cost? If the machineis p lugged in at your school or any public b uilding,then its you, the taxpayer who pays.

H o wmany vendingmachines are in yo ur school? Howmuch money are we talking about now? Howmany machines in your d istrict?

What Can You Do?

Get permission from your school principal to havethe lights turned off. The next time the machine isfilled, have the service person disconnect the

ballast and bulbs. Theres a simple p lug connectionso turning them off costs nothing. Just think howmuch money your district could be saving.

Get more information at:

Energy Star Vending Machines

h t t p : / / w w w . e n e r g y s t a r . g o v / index.cfm?c= vending_machines.pr_vending_machines

National Renew able Energy Laborato ry Stud y

www.nrel.gov/docs/fy03osti/34008.pdf

School District Vend ing Contract Survey

http://www.squaremeals.org/fn/render/channel/items/0,1249,2348_2515_0_0,00.html

Vending Machine Audit


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This project w ill make the administrators in yourschool and d istrict aw are of where large amounts

of energy are being wasted . Students should readthe meters at the c lose of the d ay (o r Frid ayafternoon for a weekend audit) and read themagain the next morning (or befo re school startson Monday for a w eekend audit) to see howmuch energy is being used when the schoolis shut down. The data should b e reportedto the Energy Manager and principal. Effortsto reduce the amount of energy used whenschool is closed should be implemented.Suggestions for reducing that energy w aste

include making sure all lights are off in the schoolwhen it is closed (with the exception of securityl i g h t i n g ) , computers should bep o w e r e d d o w n fo r nightsa n d w e e k e n d s ,teachers should not have

i n d i v i d u a lrefrigerators in

their classroom;c o p y

machinesand othern o n -essent ial

equipmentis turned off.

The audit should berepeated throughout theschool year to make surethat things are beingpowered down and

turned off when not inuse.

Overnight & Weekend

Meter Audits

Contact Watt Watchers to check out some toolsto d o audits in your schoo l. When the too l box

arrives use the kill-a-w att meter tomeasure

the energy use o f sod a machines,computers, moni tors, copymachines, fax machines and otherequipment found around yourschool. Put the data co llected ina spreadsheet and give theinformation to the schoolprincipal and energy manager

along w ith information o n Energy Starequipment.

For more information:http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P4400/P4400-CE.htmlhttp://www.energystar.gov

Kill-A-Watt

Audits


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Weatherization is a fourteen letter w ord that strikesfear into the hearts of many Watt Watchers. The

Community Weatherization Project is among thebiggest and most challenging of all school energyprojects. A school group (often a Student Council)goes out into the community and installs energysaving measures in the homes of eld erly or low -income residents. Often multip le Student Councilsband together to pull off this Mega Project.Installing energy saving devices is often calledw eatherization since many of the measuresimprove the homes energy performance inhot o r cold w eather.

Stud ents must co o rd inate w ith severalcommunity partners in addit ion tocoordinating betw een several schools to getthe students turned out on a Saturday to dothe work. Typically, local homeimprovement centers or local gasand electric utility companies areasked to donate the materials thatthe students install in area

h o m e s .Contactingthe rightperson within each organizationcan take time and effort evenbefore the negotiations begin forwhat materials can be provided.

Locating ten to twenty homes to weatherize canalso be a challenge. Obviously, you cant go door

to door asking if each homeowner might beinterested . Here again, you w ill need to coordinatew ith social service agencies and find the rightperson within each organization to work with.

Then there is the p rob lem of know ing which energyefficiency measures to install and getting goodinformation on how to install them. If you donthave a local energy expert or goodsupport from a utility companythis can be a sticky

problem.I think you aregetting the idea.This is a bigproject. Butdon t despair some goo dsupp ort is nowavailable.

A greatpublication you need to

read before starting your project is theChristmas

In April Energy Efficiency Guidebook preparedby Dr. Lisa Gartland of PositivEnergy for the

Reb uild Americ a Pro gram. Theguidebook covers 17 differentpossible weatherization

measures from caulking topipe insulation to

furnace tune-upsto ceil ing and

floor insulation. Of course, it is unlikely that youw ill be insulating attics or

Weatherization


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Watt Watchers of Texas is w orking w ith Midd leSchool Science Teachers across the state of Texas

to get them involved in the Junior Solar Sprintprogram. Junior Solar Sprint is a fun program wheremidd le school students build model solar cars andrace them against their peers. As an organizationyou could plan and hold the race at your school.For more information on how to host a JSS race,p lease refer to the National Renew able EnergyLaboratories website www.nrel.gov/education/jss_hfc.html and click open the file host site guidebook.

retro-fitting furnaces but you can choose a handfulof measures suited to your project, skill levels, anddonated materials.

The value of the book is that it explains what eachmeasure is, has a photo of the item, givesapp roximate co st, assigns a skill level required for

installation, explains how much each measure w illsave, how to install it, and even estimates the lengthof time needed to perform the work. This isbasically everything you need to know about ameasure to see if it fits your p roject. You can nowrequest specific items to b e donated by the homeimprovement centers and be much lessdependent upon local experts.

Go to Dr. Lisa Gartlands homepage (she is anenergy exp ert w ith a PhD in Mechanical

Engineering!) at http://www.pstvnrg.com/xinaand click on... everything this is all really goodinformation. Organize Your Ow n Energy Teamis a good place to start. This section tells youhow to organize teams of volunteers toincorporate energy efficiency into the generalrehab w ork of Christmas in Ap ril in the homes ofsenior and low income citizens. Hmmm, does thissound familiar?

Dr. Gartland has some very good resources,includ ing a sample letter to request donationsof supplies. In addition, there is advice forHouse Captains and a questionnaire to helpyou survey each house in advance. Dontforget to read everything and VolunteerTraining has especially excellent advice for yourproject.

So now you can take on the Mega Project w ithno fear, weatherization can be just another longword for a successful project.

The Christmas in April Handbook is available as anAdobe Acrobat file that you can download andview or print or even e-mail to all your teamcaptains. It is at the Rebuild America homepageand is a 2.1 MB file, so try to download from a fastco nnectio n. w w w.reb uild.org/attachments/guidebooks/christmasinaprilhandbook.pdf

But be sure to go to the PositivEnergy sitewww.pstvnrg.com/ for all the details.

Host a Junior Solar

Sprint Race


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1. Do your homework. You must do yourhomework before you propose a recycling

program to administrators. If you are anadministrator, there are things youll wantto investigate before you implement arecycling p rogram at your schoo l.

a. Determine disposal service leveland costs.

b. Conduct an informal waste auditfor your campu.s

c. Contact recycling collectors.

2. Get your administrator s supp ort. Afterconducting an informal waste audit andgathering information from local recyclers,you will be ready to make educatedestimates of your schools d isposal serviceneeds and opportunities for recycling. Theprospect of reducing your school sdisposal costs, backed up by theinformation you have collected, shouldhelp to gain the support of schooladministrators.

Having your administrations support isimportant for the success of the p rogram.Without prop er backing, allocating staff andfunding the program may be impossible.Keep in mind that administrative decisionsare strongly influenced by economics.From an economic standpoint, a recyclingprogram will cost money, but it will alsosave money, and might also make money.Only by considering all of these facto rs can

you determine the bottom line for yourprogram. Use the information you havecollected to prepare an oral or writtenproposal to the super intendent orprincipal.

3. Pick a coordinator for the program. Findingthe right faculty or staff person tocoordinate your recycling program is an

important step. This person should have apersonal interest in and enthusiasm for

recycling, as well as good communicationand organizational skills. The amount of timerequired of this person may beconsiderable at first. His or her involvementcould taper off as the program becomesmo re routine. Yo u may also w antcoordinators for the cafeter ia, theadministrative office, and each classroom.These people can help promote theimportance of putting recyclables in theco rrect containers and keep ing the wrong

materials out.4. Select a Recycling Committee or Team. A

school recycling committee or team isnecessary to help organize and overseethe recycling program. One option is touse your site-based managementcommittee. On a d istrict-w ide level includeall divisions of the d istrict. Recruit supportfor recycling in your school or schoold istrict from

custod ial/janitorial staff

food service/cafeteria staff

teachers

student representatives

facilities/maintenance personnel

grounds personnel

business managers

d istrict purchasing agents

Adopt-a-School partners

parentteacher organizations

Involve all of the above groups in planningthe p rogram from the very beginning. Theyw ill be an integral part of your success andshould feel ownership of the program.Custodial staff and facility managers, forexample, have special knowledge that willbe vital in develop ing the co llection systemand w ill p lay a key role in the p rocess.

Start and Maintain

a Recycling Program


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Make everyone aware that the school may not bereimbursed for its recycled materials. The maineconomic benefit is likely to be in reducing orholding down your schools disposal costs.

5. Develop a collections system plan. Beforecollection begins, work out each step

involved in moving the materials from theirpoint of generation to the collector. Makeyour program simple and reasonablyconvenient for people to use. Be sure yourp lan fits w ith the co llecto rs equipment andschedule. Considerations in planning therecycling system include where to collectthe materials, types of containers to use,moving and handling the materials, sto rage,and pickup.

6. Kick-Off the Program. It is important to takea high level of awareness about yourrecycling p rogram from the start. Planseveral elements to be part of your kick-off.

Develop a logo and slogan

Have a pep rally to celebrate the kick-off

Conduct contests and give out prizes

Contact the local media

Distribute posters

Become a Clean Texas member andget recognition (go toh t t p : / / www.cleantexas.org/for moreinformation aboutClean Texas)

7. Reinforce the recyclinghab it. Af ter the kick o ff

reinforce the new habit.Continual reminders w ill keep participationhigh and minimize p rob lems. Keepeverybod y updated and excited about theprogram so they can see that their effortsare producing results. A great way to dothis is through posters, announcements,bulletin boards, report cards, contests,etc.

8. Monitor and evaluate your progress. Beespecially watchful for prob lems during thefirst w eeks of your recycling program. Makeregular evaluations thereafter. Respondingquickly and appropriately to problems isnecessary for a successful program.

9. Close the loop: buy recycled. Remember,recycling hasnt come full circle until youpurchase products made from recycled-co ntent materials. Your purchase of theseproducts is important in stimulatingrecycling markets. Prod ucts w ith recycledcontent include office and computerpaper, notebooks, forms, phone messagepads, calculator tape, napkins, toilet p aper,paper tow els, and much more.

When recycling paper products, do not overlookany sources of paper. Used textbooks are oftenthrow n out after they have been replaced. Speakto the person in charge of new textbooks to besure the old ones go in your recycling bin.Shredded office reports could also go into yourbin. Everything at schools is delivered in cardboardboxes. Those are paper prod ucts. Remember tob reak them dow n flat before throw ing themin.

For mored e t a i l e d

i n f o r m a t i o nd o w nload the Texas

School Recycling Guide atthe TCEQ w eb site at http ://

w w w . t c e q . s t a t e . t x . u s / comm_exec/forms_pubs/pubs/gi/gi-030.html.

Also see http://www.earth911.org


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Once you have the basic steps for starting arecycling program you can expand to other areas

that you see as a need in your school.Does your school have plastic bottle or aluminumcan soda machines? Start a campaign to recyclethose soda containers. Contact your local recyclingcompany to find out if they can handle theparticular material you want to recycle and howmuch it would cost your school. Find or designbins that w ill accommod ate the shape of containeryou are working with. You can contact your localsoda bottling company and ask for a donation of

lefto ver syrup barrels to use as b ins. If the hole inthe top of your bin is the same shape and size asthe container, you w ill have less trash in w ith yourrecyclables. Remember to always get permissionfrom your principal first.

The recycling triangle symbol you often see onproducts actually has three w ords: reduce, reuse,

and recycle. Look around your school for waysyour group can help w ith reducing consumption

and reuse as well.Does your school have a dress code o r uniforms?Have the seniors donate gently used clothing atthe end of the year to be distributed to those inneed. Expand that same project to include allgrade levels for c lothes they have outgrown.

Instead of throw ing away all the leftover suppliesin your locker at the end of the year, donate themto a teacher, an elementary school or a group inyour area that could help d istribute these. On

locker cleanout days, set out boxes clearly labeledas donations. You will need to sort through theseto weed out the unusable supplies. Be sure tohave a destination in mind for these productsbefore you start the project. You may end upw ith boxes full of crayons and nowhere to go w iththem.

Start and Maintain

Other Recycling Programs


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An Energy Encounter is a day-long event to providelots of information, ideas, and excitement about

energy projects for students, teachers andadministrators. Group s from several d ifferentschools in a district or region come together forfun, learning, and motivation. It is a great way topick up ideas for energy projects that any StudentCouncil, Future Teachers of America, National HonorSociety, Future Business Leaders of America, yourScience Club or other group can do.

Typically, the day starts w ith a motivational speaker.The day continues with great information about

the Texas State Energy Conservatio n O fficePrograms, Watt Watchers-in-a-Nutshell, MonitorPower Management Sleep Is Good,Weatherization, and recaps of many fun and easyenergy p rojects.

Af ter breaking for lunch, students return energizedand ready fo r encounter missions. The basicstructure of the mission is that students are d ividedinto four groups. Lead ing the groups w ill be astaff member from Watt Watchers, an energymanager or a school sponsor. Once the groupsare formed and in place, the leader of the groupexp lains the title of the mission. For an example,w e will use How to Do an Exit Sign Audit. Theleader w ill give information on exit signs and theirenergy consumption, how they differ from energy-efficient exit signs, how to tell the difference, andhow to conduct an audit of exit signs in yourschool. Once the mock audit is completed, thenthe group comes back together and using materialsprovided by Watt Watchers, assembles a

presentation for the other encounter participants.The presentations will be given by each group andw ill add itionally serve as model presentations thatstudents can give to school boards and schoolofficials to offer energy-saving ideas and measuresthat schools and schools districts can take tobecome more energy efficient.

All this, and more, is condensed into one full daythat includes handouts, p rize d raw ings, and a littlefrivolity along w ith serious savings sessions to helpyour group encounter energy and emerge efficient.

So what does this mean for your student group?Well, hosting an Encounter at your school meansthat you provide the facility needed to hostbetween 40 and 60 students on a Saturday from9am to 4p m. We w ould need your help tocoord inate the set-up of the roo m. We wouldalso need your group to do a short presentationon the energy projects that you have done at yourschool so you can share your ideas as the hostschool. There will be a breakout session wherestudents from different schools can share ideas.

In all, hosting a Watt Watchers Energy Encounter at

your school w ill help b roaden the energy projectsand ideas w ithin your group and at other schools,provide you with the useful experience of hostingan event for other schools and it will give you achance to meet fellow high school students fromaround your area.

Host an Energy

Encounter


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1. Talk to your teacher/sponsor and find out howoften the school board meets. Figure out if they

allow students to come and talk to them aboutd ifferent issues. Many times they allow studentsto talk at meetings, but you have to schedule inadvance so you will be on the agenda.

2. Plan approximately a 5-15 minute presentationon topics, such as the following:

a) The benefits of using recycled paper in thedistrict

b) Starting a recycling program in the district.

c) The benefits of starting an energy monitoringprogram, i.e. Watt Watchers, in your district.

d) The cost savings of taking the light bulbs out ofthe soft drink machines.

e) The cost savings of changingto low flow shower heads inthe school gyms.

f) The cost savings of changingExit signs to LED signs.

g) Implementing Sleep isGood for al l thecomputers in yourschool or district.

Descriptions of theseprojects are availab le inthis manual.

3. All of these are greattopics that your school

board would be very interested in hearing about.They all involve making your school district good

stew ards of the environment.4. Make sure that your teacher and p rincip al haveapproved your presentation before you go beforethe school board.

5. You should prepare a handout to give to all thepeop le present at the meeting, giving facts aboutthe top ic that you are p resenting.

6. You can also mod ify this p roject and dopresentations to other organizations, clubs, andgroups within your school and community.

Make a Presentation on

School Energy Efficiency


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Ask Local Energy

Professionals in YourArea to Speak at Your

SchoolEnergy is a very hot top ic these days, w ith the p riceof o il higher than ever, the demand for companiesto add renewable energy to their mix and theincreased co ncern of air po llution. We are askingyou to develop a list of energy professionals thatw ould be interested in coming to your school tospeak to stud ents and teachers. There are manyways to develop this list you could simply letyour fingers do the walking in your local yellow

pages or contact your utility company to getinformation about the people in your area. Once

the list isdeveloped pass it out tothe teachers in yourschool and assist themin contacting theseprofessionals forpresentations.

1. To start a project like this, it is best to try topartner with the vocational department,

especially if they have an auto mechanicsclass. They can always help to sto re theused oil until it is taken to the recyclingcenter. Some places w ill even co me top ick up used oil.

2. If this event is going to be successful, youneed to make sure that you advertise fora good period of time. It might even behelp ful if you say that every first Tuesdayof the month, you will collect used oil.

People might have better luckremembering that they need to bring theiroil to schoo l.

3.For the location of a used o il/o il filtercollection center near you, call 1-800-CLEANUP, o r visit the w eb site atw w w.1800c leanup.org. You can alsosearch the Texas Commission onEnvironmental Quality, http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/ or thew w w.earth911 .org. Bo th o f thesew ebsites have information abo ut used oilrecycling programs and centers that takeused oil. Many times if a co mpany know sthat you are doing a project like this, they

will even offer to come and pick upyour schools used oil, which can

save your council the trip to arecycling center.

4. It would also be a goodidea to figure out exactly how

much oil you co llect each time.

Oil Recycling

Project


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Create several forms to report energy waste onyour campus. Place them in an area that is

easily accessible. Complete the form w henyou d iscover problems like doors recurrentlyleft open (or that get stuck open), stuck flushvalves, stadium lights/parking lights on duringthe day, broken sprinklers or water w aste, etc.Fax the fo rm to the Energy Manager o rMaintenance Director so that the prob lem canbe add ressed. These individuals cant be onevery campus in your district every day and

they need your help in identifying prob lems.

Leaky Faucet

AlertsFAX Facts

Stop those leaks! This project is great for students

to take part in. You are in theschool everyday and you may notice a leaky sinkin a classroom or bathroom that might gounnoticed by others. Create a sheet that you cangive to the custodian, energy manager ormaintenance personnel that tells them the locationof the leak and the time and date that you detectedthe leak. Do your job to help Stop the Leaks!

31


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ShorShorShorShorShort and Simplet and Simplet and Simplet and Simplet and SimpleProjectsProjectsProjectsProjectsProjects


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1. Make sure to p ick a week that works wellw ith your school. If possible you could

coordinate w ith national Energy Aw arenessMonth in October, but any week duringany month w ill work.

2. There are many things that yo u caninco rporate into an Energy Week. Youcould have your towns Mayor come toyour school and sign a Proclamationannouncing that this w eek is Energy Week.You could have Energy Dress Days, do acarpool to school contest, have analternative transportation day, have your

student body sign a Declaration of EnergyIndependence, plant trees, and the listgoes on and on.

3. Just make sure to start advertising as soonas you know when the energy week willtake place. The best way to get peo ple toparticipate is by letting them know exactlywhat w ill be going on.

4. A good end to your Energy Week is to havea recycled sculpture building contest.

During the w eek have stud ents andteachers bring recycled cans, paper, boxesetc. and during the last day of energy weekhave a contest between grade levels tosee who can build the best recycled artsculpture. Dont forget to recycle theentries w hen the contest is over.

5. An Energy Week is a great w ay to get theword out about all of the different typesof energy that are available in the w orldtoday. Another thing to keep in mind is to

try to get as much information out aboutthe different types of energy that areavailable, especially if you have some ofthem in your community.

You can follow these steps to setup a highwayclean-up site.

1. Speak w ith your teacher/sponsor to findout if it is possible for your group toparticipate in adopt a highway clean-ups.

2. Then contact the Texas Department ofTranspo rtation Dont Mess w ith Texascampaign. This website will give you allthe information for your area http://www.dontmessw ithtexas.org. Each areahas a different coordinator who assignshighway sections. They will assign a tw omile strip of highway in your area to your

group.3. Make sure when you sign on to take part in

this project, you understand that you willsign a two year agreement to clean yourhighway section four to six times a year.

4. Everything you need to do this p roject,except the people, is provided by theAd opt a Highway program. They providethe volunteers with the appropriatepermits, safety vests, litterbags, and safety

training.5. The benefits to your group are great: first itis FREE - yo u cant beat that. You get FREEadvertisement on the Adopt a Highwaysign for your group. Most of all you arehelp ing keep Texas highw ays clean andhelping to Keep Texas Beautiful.

If you need any additional information, go to theDon t Mess w ith Texas w eb site -www.dontmesswithtexas.org/adopt.php .If your

area is not listed , contact the Texas Department o fTransp ortation. Their w eb add ress is http ://www.dot.state.tx.us/.

Energy Week Adopt a Highway


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1. Speak w ith your auto mechanics teacherand find out if they would be willing to

help teach people about some of thedifferent ways to make their cars moreefficient.

2. If this is something they are interested in,find out how easy it would b e to set up ademonstration after school, where peoplecould come by and learn about their cars.

3. This p rogram could b e an extra creditp roject for the auto mechanics class. Theymight also want to help your group puttogether fact sheets that you could hand

out to make people more aware of theircars and what they can do to make theircars more environmentally friendly.

Get tips and info at:http://www.fueleconomy.gov

Automobile Efficiency

Mini Lessons

So, when was the last time you checked your tirepressure?

Have the class survey the school parking lot. Giveout ribbons to drivers if they want their tirepressures checked they put the ribbon on theirdash or rearview mirrors. The class then checksall the marked cars in the lot and leaves a notecard under the windshield wiper with thepressures for each t ire reco rded .

Provide an Air Station after school to get under-inflated tires pumped up. (This w ill require someair co mpressors, hose, etc.) Or this co uld b e

coordinated with a nearby service station thatwould permit students to help people get theirtires inflated .

Borrow a Cross Reference Manual from a local autoparts store or co ntact an auto parts manufacturerlike Car Quest, FRAM or Puralator to request acopy. Once you have the manual you can loo kup information on air filter size for the car.

Recommended tire pressures can beread from the tires and recorded

on a chart. Windshield w iper sizecan be measured and recorded .

Your group can leave the d river a small chart theycan put in their glove b ox w ith all this usefulinformation. It will now be easier and more likelyfor your fellow students to keep up with routinemaintenance that can save energy, save themmoney, and prevent pollution.

You can also pass out a flyer from the Departmentof Energy that w ill give your drivers some add itional

information on saving energy in their automobile.To p rint the new s releases go t o http ://www.eere.energy.gov/news/press.cfm

Keep a score of the recorded tire pressures anduse the data to compare with national averagesand make a large chart to hang in the school tomake everyone aware of your

Student Automobile

Efficiency Day(plus Safety)


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Student Name: _____________________________________________

Date:________________

Transportation

Auto Tire Pressure Gauge Worksheet

Total Number of Under Inflated Tires_____________________________________

Tire Actual

Tire PressureRecommended

Tire Pressure

LF - Left Front

LR - Left Rear

RF - Right Front

RR - Right Rear


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1. Get the information out that your group w illbe having a contest to see how many

people can carpool to school in one car.Make sure you tell them that every personmust be legally in a seat belt. You want thisto be a safe project. Make flyers, posters,announcements and so on letting peopleknow w hat you w ill be d oing. It might alsobe a good idea to see if you can get doo rprizes to hand out to the w inners. Considerinviting a local radio station to broadcastlive from your campus the morning of thecontest.

2. In the morning have members o fyour group posted at the entrances to yourschool parking lots counting all the p eop lein the cars. Make sure to get the names ofthe participants so that everyone can berecognized for their participation.

3. Make the announcement at the end of theday, so that everyone know s who w on thecontest. The better the prizes the morelikely people are to participate in the

contest.

Carpool Days

This is can be an easy pro ject to do. Get a fewmembers of your council together around

lunchtime and go to the parking lot and check allthe cars in the lo t to see if any of them are leakingoil. If they are leaking oil, leave them a note sayingthat they have an oil leak and should get it checkedo ut. Leave them add itional information asrecommended in other automobile projects in thismanual. You will be remind ing them that a w ell-tuned car helps fuel efficiency and reduces

emissions.

Checking for

Oil Leaks

Organize an Alternative

Transportation Day

1. Plan a d ay to see how creative yourstudent body can be with how they getto school.

2. Make sure you do a lot o f advertising tomake sure that you get a good turnout fo rthe project.

3. Some options for transp ortation are

biking, skating, skateboards, pogo sticks,row boats, other boats (if energy efficient),wheel barrow ing, horses, dog sled, o r vialawn mower if it can be shown to beenergy efficient.

4. Give a prize for the most creative form oftransportation and for the mostenvironmentally friendly mode oftransportation used.


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Energy Announcements,

Posters, Marquee Signs,Display Cases

1. All of the projects listed above are waysto get the word out about your class/organization focus on energy.

2. You can do weekly announcements aboutenergy conservation or environmentalawareness.

3. Posters can be mad e that explain thedifferent energy sources, remind peopleto recycle, or deal withEnergy or Environmenttopics.

4. Disp lay cases can b e

done to promote energyconservation or environmentalawareness.

5. Banners can be d one just l ikeposters only bigger.

6. Marquee signs are a great w ay toremind people of energyconservation or environmentalawareness tips.

Toilet Times and Potty

Periodicals

Everyone know s (girls at least) that anything postedin a bathroom stall will get read . Even if it is just so

you can spend a couple more minutes outside ofclass. Use that free advertising to spread yourenergy and environmental message.

Have students find tips on conserving energy,recycling, energy sources, how much w ater is used

every time you flush, or on any project youare about to begin. Write them on a sheet ofpaper and decorate it to attract attention.Make photocopies and then plaster thosebathroom stalls. Send the boys in to p ut them

on mirrors, in stalls, and above urinals in themens roo m. Dont forget the teachersbathrooms; just get permission b efore goingin.

When making photocopies, remember that youare do ing energy projects

and it saves energyand paper whenyou print double-

sided . You co uld reuseyour flyers by printing onboth sides and flipp ing themat the end of the w eek.

You can use this info rmationalflyer for all your projects. Postquestions the week after EnergyWeek. Have stud ents bring theirco rrect answ ers to your sponsoror student council mailbox/room

for a treat. Instead ofdoing a survey in thecafeteria on recycling,post your surveyq uestions in the To ilet

Times and have studentsbring their opinions to you.


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4. Once they are decorated, you can copythem on cardstock or you can laminatethem so they will last longer. Take them toyour group meeting and let your memberscut them out and deliver them with a noteabout turning off the lights.

For more information: see the Spring 2005 WattsNews article Remember: Turn It Off on page B-4.

Computer Monitor

Reminder CardsNow that technology has made the monitor powerdown w ithout any human input, it is easy to forgetto turn off your computer CPU when you are notusing it. Many scho ol co mputers are acc identallyleft on overnight fo r just that reason. Just as lightsw itch reminders help us to remember to turn offthe lights, computer reminders will do the same.

1. Find out how many computers are in yourscho o l. Remember to count teacherco mputers as well as co mputer labs. Youcan get this information by making aphysical count or by asking the technologyperson or principal at your school. Double

this number so you have tw o coversper computer (one for the monitor

and one for the CPU).2. Come up with a short slogan ortheme for your reminders such asOff at Night o r I need my rest.

3. Cut out shapes (check your library fora machine to help you with this) that

represent your theme (stars,moo ns, etc) . Use card stock or

construction paper.

4. Write your slogan on the shapes and havethem laminated so they w ill last longer.

5. Attach one to each computer and monitorin an easily visib le place. If the CPU is

under a desk or not easily visible,place the reminder somewhere it

will be seen.

Light Switch

Covers

1. This is a great p roject to help teachers ands t u d e n t s remember to turn

their lights offwhen theyleave theclassroom. Itis also a veryeasy project todo.

2. Start off by measuringdifferent light switch platesin your scho o l. You canmake a cover that covers the

whole light switch and just hasan op ening for the sw itch or youcan make a border for the outside of theco ver p late. Either w ay they will remindpeople to turn the lights off.

3. Make a pattern for the covers. You candecorate them with tips on conservingenergy or a reminder about turning off thelights to help save energy and money forthe school district.


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Unplug the Extras

During Long Breaks

Unplug the Extras

Thanksgiving Break and Winter Break are just around the corner and there are a few thingsthat we encourage you to do before you leave.

1. Turn off all computer monitors and computers in your room.

2. Unplug refrigerators and microw aves in your classroo m or teachers lounge.

3. Take home any class pets or p lants (check your scho ol policy for aquariums).

4. Make sure all the lights are out.

5. Turn off other common equipment like co py machines, printers, laminators, etc.

6. Close the windows and adjust your shades (open your shades if your classroom issouth facing and close them if your classroom is north facing.)

7. Unplug any seasonal deco rations.8. If you are in a portable make sure heaters are off or set back.

9. Turn o ff and unp lug TVs some are instant o n andconstantly draw electricity.

10. Unplug any rechargeable tools or other items theyare energy vampires!

Do teachers at your scho ol have microw aves,small refrigerators, lamps, and other appliances

in their classrooms? A great project to do beforelong breaks from school is to distribute areminder announcement about unpluggingtho se items. There is no need to keep arefrigerator p lugged in to cool something that isgoing to be moldy by the time your break isover. So unp lug those extras!

Here is a sample announcement:


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Educating the occupants of your school about theamount of energy the school uses is a great w ay

to kick off an energy week or energy aw arenesscampaign for your campus. Many people haveno idea how much energy it takes to keep a schoolgoing or the money it takes to allow you to havean air conditioned schoo l w ith computers! Contactyour principal or energy manager to obtain copiesof the energy bills for the last year. Make a largebanner and chart the energy use for your campus.Hang this banner in the foyer or cafeteria of yourschool so that everyone can see it.

Write a declaration of American independencefrom foreign oil and have students and adults sign

it. Mail it to your Congressperson. Ano ther ideaalong these same lines is to w rite the declarationon a piece of butcher paper and have studentssign it and leave it p osted in your hallway as areminder to all students. You can also hand outinformation about fuel efficient cars, hybrids, and

other alternativefuel cars to helpeducate yourstudent body.An example of an

E n e r g yDeclaration ofIndep endence is

on the nextpage.

Posters/Banners on

School Energy Use

Energy Independence

Declaration


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D ecl ar at i o n o f S u st ai n ab l e E n er g y U seWhen in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissol ve thebad habits of excessive energy use whi ch have connected them with pol lution, economicsuffering, and social i l ls, and to assume among the various energy sources and powers of theearth, a separate and equal station then a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires

that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all energy sources are not created equal, That they are endowed with certain undeniable consequences,

That among these are pollution, economic cost, and political realities.

That to secure these energy sources, Governments and M en must do so responsibly, and withoutharming the environment for future generations.

That whenever any Form of Energy becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of thePeople to use alternative energy sources or to institute energy efficiency,

Prudence, indeed, wil l dictate that energy sources long establ ished should not be changed forlight and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are moredisposed to suf fer, whi le evi ls are sufferable, than to ri ght themselves by abol ishing the formsto which they are accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, evinces a pattern of pol lution, high costs, andnegative social consequences, it is their r ight, it is their duty, to throw of f such energy sources,and to provide new Guards for their future environmental, social and economic security.

Such has been the patient sufferance of the citizens of Planet Earth; and such is now thenecessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Energy use.

We, therefore, the students of Texas of the U nited States of America, assembled, do, in theName, and by A uthority of the good People of Planet Earth, solemnly publish and declare,

That we shal l use energy in the most ef f icient manner possible, use sustainable energy sources,and cause much less pollution from this day forward.

The Citizens of Planet Earth are, and of Right ought t o be Free and Independent; that they areA bsolved from al l A l legiance to non-sustainable, pol luti ng sources of energy, and that al lconnection between them and the State of inefficient energy use, is and ought to be totallydissol ved; and that as Free and Independent people, they have full Power t o l evy higheref f iciency standards, conclude to use sustainable energy sources, contract t o reduce pol lution,establ ish sustainable Commerce, and to do al l other A cts and Things which a sustainablesociety may of ri ght do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a f irm rel iance on theprotection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunesand our sacred Honor.

See other examples of Energy Declaratons at: http:/ / www.savebiogems.org/ declaration.asp

http:/ / , www.eng.yale.edu/ me185/ Declaration%20WEB.pdf

http:/ / , www.energyquest.ca.gov/ l ibrary/ ben/ ben8.htmlhttp:/ / www.txses.org/ docs/ DeclarationofSustainabil i ty-1.pdf


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Solar cooking is a great outreach program you cando with feeder schools in your district or at an

Earth Day Celebration. It would b e a great w ay toteach students about how much energy andpower the sun is able to p roduce.

Solar cooking is not only fun,but its a great educationalto o l. So lar co o kersw o rk using theg r e e n h o u s eeffect to trape n e r g y .

Stud ents haveexperiencedt h eg r e e n h o u s eeffect many timeswhen theyveopened a car door,only to f ind the carinterior warm on a coldw inter day or extremely hoton a summer day.

There is a w ide variety o f solarcookers students may build, some of which canbe constructed during a class period and othersw hich may require a w hole d ay.

Solar box cookers constructed using cardboard,new spaper, aluminum foil, and a piece of glass,w ill typ ically cook at temperatures betw een 225 -275 F. (Crock Pots co ok at 185 F.)

It is a real oven and will cook most anything youwould put in your oven at home. It is considereda slow co oker, usually taking about tw ice as longas your conventional oven. Put your foo d out earlyand you can run errands, etc. and not w orry aboutyour home burning dow n. The foo d can be leftunattended for hours without fear ofovercooking or burning. Unlike your oven, thesolar cooker does not add heat to the kitchen.

Theres no need to rotate the oven to follow thesun with single reflector designs, though it will

imp rove cooking times. You can take asolar oven to the beach orcamping, and you can also

use it to pasteurize water.When solar cooking as apubl ic demonstrationchoose foods that do not

require pasteurization(e.g. meats and eggs)

and follow goodh y g i e n i c

p r a c t i c e s .Hot dogs orp a c k a g e dc o o k i edough are

easy, safechoices.

Check out the SolarCooking Traveling Energy

Exploration Station that includes

4 solar cookers and designs to b uild7 other cookers.

For more information:http://www.solarcooking.org/

Solar CookoutIt is very popular on campuses to have a cookoutto raise money fo r a p rojec t or cause. Oursuggestion is to make it a Solar Cookout. Buildingsolar cookers can be very simple. There are many

types of co okers and choosing the right cooker iseasy once you know what you are cooking. WattWatchers has a solar cooking traveling energyexploration station that you can check out and useto help you in building your cookers for yourcookout. The important key for this project is theSUN!

Solar Cooking

Demonstrations


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Earth Day Celebration1. Check to see if your community does

anything for Earth Day. If they d o, ask ifthey would like any volunteers to help p lanthe day or just be there to help whereneeded . If your community does not doanything, ask if they might b e w illing tohelp your group put on a celebrationfor the community. The best way toget something started would be tocontact your local government,Chamber of Commerce, or localrecycling center.

2. The next thing to d o is tofigure out exactly whatyou want to d o w ith yourEarth Day Celebration.Many d ifferent things can b edone at a celebration. You can havelive music, recycled art project stations,the utility company could come and handout information, you can plant trees,host a community wide clean up, have

people come and talk aboutrecycling, etc. Make sure that you

makeit fun for

everyoneinvolved.

3. Advertise heavily, especially if you are do inga community w ide celebration. Contactthe radio station, newspaper and local TVstation to let them know all the particularsthat wi l l be occurr ing during thecelebration.

4. Remember, every day is earth day.For more information:

Earth Day Netw ork http ://w ww.earthday.org/Environmental Protection Agency

http://www.epa.gov/earthday/

RecycledArt ContestYour recycling pro ject may need a little bo ost anddoing a recycled art contest is a great w ay to getpeop le pumped up about recycling. A great wayto do this simple project is to have grade levelsco mpete against each other. You might w ant toselect the recycled material, for instance everyone

must use recycled cans or paper or milk jugs. Oryou could allow them to just use anything that canbe recycled. While this is not an energy savingproject it is a fun way to get your campus re-energized about recycling which is an energy

savings project.

Earth Day

Celebration


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1. Determine which area of your campus needsthe most help or is most visible to your student

body or pick an area in town that needs a littleextra touch.

2. Then start asking your group w hat kind o fbeautification project they would like to d o. Thereare many options; for example, your organizationcould do monthly cleanups around the school,they could plant trees and add flowerbeds, or theycan add some sort of permanent structure thatcan be used by the students at your school. Ifyou decide to do something community related,

look to cleaning up parks for children, cleaning upa cemetery, adding flow erbed s to visible areas inthe community, or doing a mixture of these ideas.

3. Once you decide on this, you w ill know howto budget fo r your p roject. Do ing campuscleanups requires little to no money. Ad ding treesand flow erbed s involves getting flow ers and treesdonated or using some of your organizations fundsto make the pro ject a reality. Ad d ing a permanentstructure like a picnic table or a campus widebeautification involvesgetting the materialsdonated or doingsome fundraisers topay for theproject.

If you areinterested in do inga permanent structure,you might want to surveythe student bod y to find

out what they would liketo see in that area.

4. Make sure thatwhichever wayyou decide to doa campusb e a u t i f i c a t i o nproject, that you help maintain your project.

That could mean watering the flowerbeds andtrees, posting signs to help promote cleaning up

the campus, or using the structure that you helpedput on your campus or in the community.

Doing a project l ike this could make yourorganization want to do something in yourcommunity. You could adapt this p roject to use inyour community very easily. Talk to people in yourcommunity and find out some p laces that they thinkneed sp rucing up . Then co ntact your localgovernment leaders or your Chamber ofCommerce, and they would be more than willing

to help you with a project like this. A project ofthis kind will take a lot of volunteers so make sureyour organization is supportive of the p roject andw illing to help b efore you commit.

Campus

Beautification Project


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October is Americas Energy Awareness Monthsponsored by the Federal Energy Management

Program (FEMP). Each year FEMP selects a themefor Energy Aw areness month and makes materialsavailable to the p ublic for no cost. You do nt haveto celebrate Octo ber as Energy Aw areness Month;you could select any month and use their materials.The important thing is to make your schooloccupants aware about energy sources,efficiency, cost, and future.For more information: http://w ww.eere.energy.gov/femp/services/energy_aware.cfm

Participate in Energy

Awareness Month

Many times you may wonder what your senatorsand representatives are doing to help do their part

for the environment. A good w ay to find out is to

write to your senators and representativesto find out what their stand is on differentenvironmental issues. To get addresses foryour U.S. House of Rep resentatives, go tohttp ://w w w.house.gov/w riterep/ . For U.S.Senate members, go to http://w ww.senate.gov/ . To get the add ressesfor your Texas House and Senate members,go to http ://w w w.tml.org/links_texas.html .

There is a link to get the names of membersof the House and Senate. Make sure towr i te to the correct senator orrepresentative from your district.

When writing letters, make sure that theyare written on your school or o rganizationletterhead. They w ill look more professionaland will also be better received by yourco ngressp erson. Make sure that yoursponsor, teacher or p rincipal approves theletter before you send it.

A good w ay to start a letter to your senatoror representative is to d escribe the p rojectsthat your organization has been w orking onthroughout the year. Then you can ask whatsome of their environmental concerns are

and how they have been able to use their po sitionto help their cause.

Write Letters to Local

and State Off icials


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Are you doing energy projects at your school?Do you w ant to share your successful project ideas

w ith other schools in Texas? Let o thers know howmuch your schooldoes to savee n e r g ya n d

promote energy awareness. Start by sending WattWatchers an article about your energy projec ts andlet us put the information in the Watt Watchersnew spaper, Watts New s. Submitting an article toWatt Watchers is one of the simplest p rojects witha lot of reco gnition. Your school does a project,you take some pictures and some notes (who,w hat, when, where and w hy), write an article andemail it to Watt Watchers and we will do therest! The circulation fo r each Watts News is 5,000to 10,000 issues! You could become famous.

Student groups all over Texas are doing pro jectsto help raise energy awareness in their d istrict andthis is an opportunity to share that projectinformation w ith the rest of the states schools. Usethe projects w ithin this handbook. If your schooldoes a project not mentioned here, this can be agreat way to share your original project idea.If you have any questions at all just call 1-888US WATTS (879-2887).

Wri te Articles for

Watts News

Science fairs are a great way to get people involvedin learning. Energy is a great subject that has lots

of experiments/p rojects. We encourage you tohold an Energy Science Fair have students at yourschool do an experiment dealing with Energy andthen have a contest at the fair to see w hoseexperiment was the best. This gets students of allkinds involved in learning about energy.

Survey Your School

to Determine

Its Energy IQA surveys main point is to access a group andfind out how much information they know andw hat information they are unsure of. The best wayto do this is to find questions that are easilyanswered, typ ically yes or no questions. Using thatmethod, you w ill most likely get answ ers that youcan work w ith.Below are some sample survey questions:

" Do you leave the water running when youbrush your teeth? Yes or No

" Do you turn o ff the lights w hen you leave the

room? Yes or No" Do you litter? Yes, Often, Seldom, or No" Have you seen people litter? Yes or No" If so, did you pick up their litter or ask them

not to litter? Yes or No" Do you combine errands on automobile trips?

Yes No" Do you carpo ol to school? Occasionally Yes

No" Do you walk or ride a bike to school?

Occasionally Yes No" Do you ride a school bus? Occasionally Yes

No" Do you recycle the plastic rings that are on 6-

pack drinks? Yes No" Do you recycle paper at home? Yes No" Do you recycle aluminum cans at home? Yes

No" Do you recycle p lastic at home? Yes No" Do you take a shower or a bath? Bath Show er" Do you participate in recycling projects at

school? Yes No

Host an Energy Science

Fair


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Do you know of classrooms or teachers thatconsistently leave their lights on when out of the

room or leave their computerson at night? Then you need anAmericas Most Wanted EnergyWaste rs camp aign! Take apicture of the Most Wanted andList the c rime . Po st thisinformation in a visible part ofthe school to help get theattention of the others in theschool and post a sign thatsays: Would you want your

p icture here? Thenremember to help save energyat our school.

Americas Most Wanted

Energy Wasters


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Watt Watchers of Texas has developed an EnergyEfficiency curriculum supplement called

Knowledgeis Pow er forK-8 grades.W eencourageyou to uset h a tcurriculumin yourE n e r g yEducat ion

projects buta l s odistribute itto scienceteachers inyour d istrict.They can

use these lessons during their energy unit and thelesson plans are already correlated to the TEKSand TAKS.

Read Your MeterReading your electric meter is easy. You can readyour meter to check your electric use in kWh andmonitor your energy saving effo rts. Your meter haseither four or five numbered dials which recordyour electric use. The numbers on each dialalternate between clockwise andcounterclockwise.

The reading is 66,649.

On a dial meter, there are five dials, numbered 0through 9, with the 0 at the top. Look closelyand youll see that the numbers go around the

face clockwise on some of the dials, butcounterclockwise on every other dial.

The hands of the dials move in the same directionas the counting order of the numbers.To read the meter, just w rite d own the numberthat each hand has just p assed . Start w ith the d ialon the far left, and proceed to the right.

If a hand is d irectly on a number, look at the d ial toits immediate right. If that hand has passed zero,write down the number that the left hand ispointing to.

If the hand o n the right has not p assed zero, w ritedown the last number that the left hand has passed.

Some commercial meters are digital and eveneasier to read. Alw ays remember to p ut safetyfirst and use common sense. Get a custodian orenergy manager to assist you the first time you readthe meter.

Once you know how to read your meter, its easyto figure out how much electricity youve usedsince your last electric bill. Simply look at lastmonths electric bill to find the reading recordedby your local pow er company. Then, subtract lastmonths reading from the number you just tookoff your meter. What you end up with is the totalnumber of kilowatt-hours youve used since yourlast reading.

FFFFFor more inforor more inforor more inforor more inforor more information:mation:mation:mation:mation:http://elpaso.apogee.net/res/refrmtr.asphttp ://w w w.ci.seatt le.w a.us/l ight/acc o unts/stretchyourdollar/ac5_read.htmh t t p : / / w w w . n f s m i . o r g / I n f o r m a t i o n / energy_tech_info

Documents

Real Projects High School Handbook