What Is the Purpose of the Student Activity?

What is the purpose of the student activity?

This student activity is designed to get students working on an action-based inquiry of the conditions in their school. By using this activity, students will become pro-active in finding areas that may need improvement. The factors that are increasing your school’s energy consumption will later be addressed in the Level 2 class project(s). This student activity is designed as a classroom energy assessment, which will provide students with tools to identify the areas of their classroom that use (and possibly “waste”) energy.

How do we complete the student activity?

Completion of this document fulfills the second Level 2 requirement of the Georgia Green and Healthy Schools Program. Please PRINT this document and have students fill it out. Please do not mail this document into GGHS. Keep this information for your records, and use it as reference material for other Level 2 documents.

It is suggested that students work in pairs or small groups to complete the activity.

This activity contains three versions. Please have your students complete the appropriate version:

Elementary School version
Middle School version
High School version

CLASSROOM ENERGY ASSESSMENT

(to be completed by elementary school students)

As a class, please complete this assessment for your individual classroom.

Room # ______

Date of Assessment ______

Average number of students using the room each day: ______

Average number of staff using the room each day: ______

Complete the following tables regarding energy-using items in your classroom.

Type of Light Bulb / Quantity / Wattage
Incandescent
Fluorescent
Compact Fluorescent
Item / Quantity / Turned off when not in use? (y/n) / Turned off at night? (y/n)
Computers
Monitors
Printers
Televisions
VCRs/DVD
Fans
Projectors
Other

Energy Saving Practices

/ Yes / No
The classroom computers have a sleep function that lets them to “sleep” when not in use.
The lights are turned off when the room is not in use.
Are all light bulbs on when the classroom is in use, or can lighting be adjusted to take advantage of natural lighting when available?
The lighting in the room can be adjusted (dimmers, turn on select lights, etc).
There are no areas in our classroom where we can feel air leaks.

Temperature

/ Yes / No
Our classroom thermostat is programmable.
The temperature in the classroom is comfortable.

If your classroom has a thermostat, at what temperature is it set?______°

What recommendations can you suggest to conserve energy in your classroom?

CLASSROOM ENERGY ASSESSMENT

(to be completed by middle school students)

Please make two copies of this assessment and complete for YOUR classroom and ANOTHER classroom in your school building.

Room # ______

Date of Assessment ______

Average number of students using the room each day: ______

Average number of staff using the room each day: ______

Complete the following tables regarding energy-using items in your classroom.

Energy Saving Practices

/ Yes / No
Thecomputers in this room have a sleep function that lets them to “sleep” when not in use.
The lights are turned off when the room is not in use.
Are all light bulbs on when the room is in use, or can lighting be adjusted to take advantage of natural lighting when available?
The lighting in the room can be adjusted (dimmers, turn on select lights, etc).
There are no areas in this room where we can feel air leaks.

Temperature

/ Yes / No
The thermostat in this room is programmable.
The temperature in the room is comfortable.

If the room has a thermostat, at what temperature is it set? ______°

After the room has been in use for a couple of hours, measure and record the room temperature at waist height in the following locations:

Temperature four feet from the outside walls/ windows ______°

Temperature in the middle of the room ______°

Temperature four feet from the inside wall ______°

Temperature next to the thermostat______°

What recommendations can you suggest to conserve energy in this room?

CLASSROOM ENERGY ASSESSMENT

(to be completed by high school students)

Please make copies of this assessment and complete for YOUR classroom, THREE other classrooms, and another area (gymnasium, cafeteria, office, lab, etc).

Room # ______

Date of Assessment ______

Average number of students using the room each day: ______

Average number of staff using the room each day: ______

Complete the following tables regarding energy-using items in the room.

Energy Saving Practices

/ Yes / No
Computers in this room have a sleep function that lets them to “sleep” when not in use.
The lights are turned off when the room is not in use.
Are all light bulbs on when the room is in use, or can lighting be adjusted to take advantage of natural lighting when available?
The lighting in the room can be adjusted (dimmers, turn on select lights, etc).
There are no areas in this room where we can feel air leaks.

Temperature

/ Yes / No
The thermostat in this room is programmable.
The temperature in the room is comfortable.

If the room has a thermostat, at what temperature is it set? ______°

After the room has been in use for a couple of hours, measure and record the room temperature at waist height in the following locations:

Temperature four feet from the outside walls/ windows ______°

Temperature in the middle of the room ______°

Temperature four feet from the inside wall ______°

Temperature next to the thermostat______°

What recommendations can you suggest to conserve energy in this room?

Congratulations! Your class has successfully completed the Level 2 Student Activity!

To continue working towards completion of Level 2, your class must now complete the following:

Class Project: This class project should address energy use issues/concerns raised in Level 1 Self Assessment, the Level 2 Self Assessment, or the Level 2 Student Activity. The goal of your class project should result in a decrease of energy consumed in your school. Please refer to the Level 2 Data Summary to see what questions will information is expected as a result of your project, as this may help guide you in your data collection. For assistance on creating and completing your class project, please to not hesitate to call the GGHS team!

Complete AND SUBMIT the Level 2 Data Summary Form and Level 2 Requirements Checklist.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact the staff at Georgia Green and Healthy Schools at . We would be more than happy to assist you!

GGHS - energy 1Jan ‘09