There are several ways that you can save electricity at school. Creating lesson plans that teach your students how to incorporate energy-saving techniques is the best way to make these things work to your advantage. In this way, they’ll learn what they need to do to help the school decrease its carbon footprint.
Steps you can Take to Save Electricity at School
Although you’ve probably thought of some ways in which you can start to save electricity at school, it’s still important to check these while thinking of others. With this in mind, here are some of the ways in which you can start the savings process today:
- Have students power down any personal devices they’re not using. When they leave their smartphones on all day they’ll need to recharge them more often, which uses up more electricity.
- Remind everyone to turn off the lights when they leave the room. Running 6 100-watt bulbs for 6 hours at 12¢/kWh equates to 3,600-watt-hours and 43¢ used. Turning off these lights saves you $5 – $10 per month.
- Unplug overhead projectors, televisions, computers and smart boards when not in use. These items use small amounts of energy when left plugged in, especially if it has a remote or display light.
- If you and your students are finding it difficult to remember to turn your gadgets off or unplug things you’re not using, put them on a timer. These will only cost $3 – $25 per device depending on what you choose to use. They’re easy to use too – simply plug the timer into the wall and plug your device into the timer, now set up when you want it to turn on and off the device.
- Heating and cooling a room is expensive, so keep your door closed. This not only cuts down on HVAC energy consumption, but also prevents the climate-controlled air from escaping so your heating and air conditioning don’t work overtime.
Start to Save Electricity at School
You’ve undoubtedly thought of some ways in which you can save electricity at school, but hopefully you’ve been introduced to a few others here. When you start implementing these ways of saving electricity you’ll notice your electric usage and the bill that accompanies it will definitely decrease. This is how you know you’re doing your part to help the planet.