A Simple Energy Audit

Purpose: This activity will encourage you to examine your classroom and identify ways in which you can help conserve energy.

Time required: 20-45 minutes

Equipment:

•Pencil

• Small piece of lightweight paper (such as tissue paper), approximately 1” across and 3” long, that hangs on a paper clip (see drawing)

We spend much of our day in school. But few of us notice details about the school buildings, such as windows and thermostats. We also tend to pay little attention to the small actions that each of us does, such as turning lights on and off-that affect energy use. These actions are important not only because they contribute to our comfort, but also because the use of energy in heating, cooling, and lighting school buildings increases the cost of operating our schools.

An energy-efficient school is more comfortable than one that is not energy-efficient, and it needs less oil, natural gas, coal or electricity for heating or cooling. A building that is poorly designed or maintained is expensive to operate because its heating and air-conditioning systems will have to work harder to keep occupants comfortable.

The following activity will teach you to conduct a simple energy audit. By conducting this exercise, you can identify areas in your classroom that could be improved and save energy, which means saving money, reducing environmental impacts and making you more comfortable. You will learn about things that you and your classmates can do to save energy.

Audit: Inside Your Classroom

1. Where is the thermostat located?

A. It should be located on an inside wall, away from a heating or cooling source (e.g. bright lights, windows, outside doors, heating or air-conditioning vents).

Is it? YES___ NO___

2. What setting is the thermostat reading?

A. It should be set at 68° F in winter or 74° F in summer.

Is it? YES___ NO ___

3. Do you have windows in your classroom? Answer these questions, if you have windows.

A. Does your classroom have window coverings that allow you to block out intense sunlight during hot days? YES___ NO ___

B. Take the small piece of paper and paper clip you made. This is a “draft detector.” Walk up to the window, and hold the piece of paper at four different spots along the edge of the window, where the window meets the molding around it or the wall. Hold it still for about 30 seconds in each spot. Be sure to get really close to the window, if you can do it safely, and make sure that the heating and air-conditioning vents aren’t blowing the paper.

C. Does the paper move? Can you feel warm or cold air coming in through gaps at the edges of the window? If you can feel air move, or warmth or coolness entering through cracks, the windows are not energy-efficient.

Are your windows energy-efficient? YES___ NO___

4. Now take your draft detector to your classroom door. (If you have a door to a hallway and a door to the outside, do this activity with both doors.)

A. From inside the classroom, place the detector along the edges of the closed door, where it meets the molding or the walls, and along the floor. Do you detect any air moving or warmth or coolness entering through the cracks between the door and the wall or the floor? If you can feel any air moving, your door is not energy-efficient. Is your door energy-efficient? YES___ NO___

5. Does your classroom have a floor covering, such as carpeting? YES___ NO___

6. How high is your ceiling? (Use caution when trying to determine this.) Is it 8 feet or less? YES___ NO___

7. If you can safely open the heating or air-conditioning unit in the classroom, do so, and look at the filters. Are they clean (little dust or dirt, not clogged)? YES___NO___

8. Are the light bulbs used in your classroom energy-saving bulbs? (You might

need to ask your facility manager this question.) YES___ NO___

9. Are all the desks and chairs away from heating or cooling vents? YES___ NO___

10. Now we will look at some of your personal activities in your classroom that affect energy use.

A. Do you wear clothing that is appropriate for the season, such as sweaters in the winter and lightweight clothes in the summer? YES___ NO___

B. Do you turn off the lights if you are the last one out of the room? YES___ NO___

C. Do you avoid putting your textbooks, notebooks, etc. on top of heating or

cooling vents? YES___ NO___

IF YOU ANSWERED “YES” TO MOST OF THE PREVIOUS QUESTIONS, YOUR CLASSROOOM IS DOING WELL. BUT IF YOU SAID “NO” TO THREE OR MORE, YOU COULD WORK WITH YOUR TEACHER, PRINCIPAL, OR FACILITY MANAGER TO IMPROVE THESE AREAS.

1. If your thermostat is located too close to a source of heat or cool air-such as a window, door, heating or air-conditioning vent, or bright light-it will not properly measure the room temperature and could waste energy as the heating or air-conditioning system receives the wrong cue and keeps running beyond the time it needs to. The result could mean that you are uncomfortable in your classroom, because if the thermostat is near a source of heat or cool air, it will either make the system run too long and overheat or over cool some parts of the room, or turn off too early and leave some parts of the room too warm or too cold.

2. If your thermostat is set too high in winter or too low in summer, you are wasting energy. You can ask the person responsible for energy management in your school to check your thermostats to make sure that they are working properly.

3. If your windows do not have the ability to block out intense sunlight, your air conditioning costs will be too high or your comfort level will be lowered (because the room cannot adequately cool down). If you see or feel air moving through the edge of the window, this means you are losing energy from your classroom, and the windows need to be caulked, sealed, or covered by a storm window system.

4. Your draft detector has helped you to determine whether your doors and windows are energy-efficient and therefore properly reducing heat loss during cold months and air-conditioning during warm months.

5. Carpeting helps keep rooms more comfortable and conserves heat.

6. Ceilings higher than 8 feet waste energy during the winter, because warm air moves to the top of the room instead of remaining near the floor where we are.

7. Clean filters conserve energy by helping the heating or cooling systems run better. Dirty filters cause systems to be inefficient and waste energy.

8. Energy-saving bulbs save lots of money on electricity in the long term because they use less energy to produce the same amount of light as an incandescent light bulb.

9. If furniture blocks heating or cooling vents, the furnace or air conditioner will insufficiently heat or cool the room.

10. When you wear clothes that are appropriate for the weather, you require less energy use to warm or cool your indoor environment. Keeping lights on when you do not need them wastes energy. If personal items are blocking vents, the room cannot be efficiently heated or cooled.