Energy Efficiency and Climate

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Climate Portal

In this activity, students listen to a podcast about energy efficiency; read a brief history of energy efficiency in the United States; do a qualitative energy audit of their classroom, including lighting, heating/air conditioning, and appliances and electronics; interview someone knowledgeable about the physical building; and complete a quantitative energy audit of a portion of their school.

Click to View

Notes from our reviewers

The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials.

This lesson can be modified for a remote format by having students perform an audit on their own homes instead of the school. Students may need to share kill-a-watt meters, or alternatively use their household electric bills for evidence. Consider inviting a discussion about how economics can influence energy sources, use, and consumption. Have students predict how this might change our future energy choices. The teacher's guide has some important recommendations: "The physical state of schools in the US is extremely variable. School buildings (even within the same district) can run the gamut from state-of-the-art to those badly in need of repair. Before embarking on a full energy efficiency audit of your school, secure support from school or district administration to make at least some of the changes recommended by students." This lesson is hands-on and engaging, but the set-up is very important. Equity issues are very present in this topic. Student's families may not have the ability to make the same choices they are able to in the classroom. Additionally, schools do not have the same resources to address energy efficiency. It may be helpful to have a conversation about this topic before teaching this lesson. In addition to the notes on equity listed above, teachers will want to consider the goals of this lesson before teaching. The lesson is designed for students to do a full energy audit of their school and provide recommendations to improve energy efficiency. If time, resources, and support are available, this is an excellent exercise. However, the lesson could also be scaled back and just focus on the classroom or very specific aspects of the school (lighting for example) and would still provide excellent opportunities for learning.
This lesson focuses on guiding students through an energy audit. Students begin by exploring a little about the history of energy, then they do a qualitative analysis on their classroom, perform interviews, and finish with a qualitative analysis of the school. The process guides students through observation, prediction, data collection, and providing recommendations based on their data. This is a very solid scientific lesson. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
Students will learn and practice data collection, observation, and communication skills to understand energy sources, use and efficiency in their own classroom and school. Students practice critical listening skills by listening to an 11-minute podcast from MIT, and learn about how energy use is measured by performing an energy audit for their school with a kill-a-watt meter. This resource supports scientific inquiry and communication with supervisors and school staff through interviews and constructive conversations. Questions are available for whole class discussion after the qualitative and quantitative audits. A complete guide is available for educators and students including energy audit worksheets. This resource provides a variety of engaging activities that will appeal to different learning styles. Transcripts are available for the podcast activity. Students use an interview with a custodian or building manager to understand their school's energy decisions. This activity can be very empowering for students that don't always feel that their voices are heard. Student should be familiar with basic energy concepts and understand that energy is processed elsewhere before being used for heat, light, and work. Additional resources that are useful for this activity are provided as background materials. This resources includes tags for NGSS and Common Core standards, including history social studies and speaking/listening.
The lesson is technically sound but will require teachers to find electricity usage monitors. It may be possible to borrow them from a library or other local sources, they also range from $20-30 dollars online. Student groups may be deployed around the school individually with just one device to collect data over several days.