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ENERGY STAR®, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
program, helps us all save money and protect our environment
through energy efficient products and practices. For more
information, visit www.energystar.gov.
Energy Efficiency Ambassadors
The below activities are for teachers to use with their students and are based on the
Alliance to Save Energy's Green Schools Program activities. The activity also
incorporates materials from the "Comparing Light Bulbs" activity produced by the National
Energy Education Development (NEED) Project,
* For information about the Alliance to Save Energy, go to www.ase.org, or
www, greenschools. com
¦	For information about NEED'S educational materials, go to www.NEED.org.	
Subject: Science, Mathematics, English, and Technology
Grades: 6-8
Brief Description:
Too many greenhouse gas emissions are collecting in our earth's atmosphere
and are causing our climate to change. People at any age can help by using less
energy. In these activities, students will compare two products that provide the
same function (in this case, providing light) but require different amounts of
energy to do their job. Students will research and demonstrate energy efficiency
in action and learn how it applies to different technologies.
After the activities, students should be able to discuss the following:
•	How does using less energy help our environment?
•	What are the primary differences between compact fluorescent light bulbs
and incandescent light bulbs?
•	What are other examples of energy-efficient technologies or energy-
saving practices?
Background:
We have all heard about global climate change (also referred to as global
warming) and know that it is a challenge facing our world. Most people do not
know that the average home is responsible for twice as many greenhouse gas
emissions as the average car. Most of the electricity we use at home comes
from burning fossil fuels like coal and oil, which releases greenhouse gas
emissions into our earth's atmosphere. What this means is that we can each
play a role in reducing these emissions by using energy more efficiently.
One of the easiest ways to learn about energy efficiency
at home is through the light bulb. The most common
light bulb today is the incandescent light bulb,
invented by Thomas Edison 125 years ago. New
compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use 75% less
energy than an Edison bulb and last 10 times longer.
In fact, only 10% of the electricity required by an
incandescent bulb is used for light, and the other
put it into practice

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90% escapes as heat. CFLs create the same amount of light, but generate a lot
less heat - about 75 percent less. CFLs are more energy-efficient than
incandescent lights because fluorescent technology does not require a metal
filament to be heated to create light, but instead uses contained gases which
need less electricity to produce the same amount of light. To save the most
energy and do the most good for the environment, it makes sense to use CFLs in
areas of the home where lights are typically left on the longest.
Because CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, about 5 milligrams, they
should be disposed of responsibly, ideally recycled; and, if they should break,
cleaned up using EPA's guidelines. Learn more at
energystar.gov/CFLsandMercury.
There are many other appliances and technologies where energy efficiency
comes into play. For example, two different refrigerators may keep food cool
equally well, but the amount of energy they use to do so may vary significantly.
Or, two different houses of similar size may both have indoor air temperatures of
75 degrees Fahrenheit, but depending on how well each house is insulated, the
amount of energy used to heat or cool that house could mean a difference of
$100 dollars or more a month in electricity and gas bills, signaling a large amount
of wasted energy. Appliances and other technologies are considered energy
efficient when they provide as good or better performance as other technologies
but use less energy to do the job.
While a few kilowatt hours of energy wasted here or there may not seem like a
large enough amount of energy to worry about, they add up quickly in the form of
greenhouse gas emissions in our atmosphere. Consider that using a CFL
instead of an incandescent light bulb can prevent more than 200 pounds of coal
from being burned, and that lighting accounts for about 20 percent, or one-fifth, of
total residential energy use. The potential savings is enormous, and that's just
with one technology - lighting.
Objectives:
1.	Students will learn the connection between energy use and global climate
change (also referred to as global warming)
2.	Students will learn that different appliances and technologies with similar
output vary in the amount of energy they consume
3.	Students will identify and list technologies and other practical ways to be
more energy efficient in a home
4.	Students will build or display an apparatus or energy-efficient device that
demonstrates its practical application for energy efficiency
5.	Students will compare the relative value of an energy-efficient product or
practice versus an equivalent product or practice that uses energy less efficiently,
and use specific data, facts, and ideas to support their findings
6.	Students will convey information and ideas from primary and secondary
sources accurately and coherently

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7.
Students will report information and convey ideas logically and correctly
Lesson Plan:
1.	Brainstorm with students how energy is wasted in homes and how they
might help stop the waste. Students will do Internet research on current methods
recommended for home energy efficiency. Students may also contact local
energy specialists in the community and interview them about methods and/or
technologies that would reduce energy waste, save money and prevent
greenhouse gas emissions. These specialists may also provide testing
equipment for the project.
2.	Conduct the following demonstration project in class using a thermometer
and lamp (or watt meter comparator), and one each of a CFL and incandescent
bulb that produce equivalent lumens (light levels). A 60 watt incandescent bulb
and a 13 watt CFL will generally produce equivalent light levels.
Have an adult place the CFL bulb in the lamp (or watt meter) and turn it on.
Observe the light that is produced. Then, hold a thermometer six inches above
the bulb for one minute and record the temperature. Turn off the lamp and let the
bulb cool. Have an adult remove the CFL bulb, place the incandescent bulb in
the lamp and turn it on. Observe the light that is produced. Again, hold a
thermometer six inches above the bulb for one minute and record the
temperature. Ask the students if they could tell any difference in how much light
the two bulbs produced, which bulb produced more heat than the other, and
which bulb is more energy efficient.
3.	Have the class compute the actual electricity consumption of the two
bulbs for varying time periods of use; have the students approximate how long
they leave lights on (i.e. one hour of use, how many times a week, how much
over the year). Have the students compare the amount of electricity used for the
two bulbs for similar amounts of time. Compare the life cycle costs of the two
bulbs based on the cost of electricity consumed and the purchase price of the
bulb. Have the students compare the amount of amount of greenhouse gases
produced based on the electricity consumed.
Electricity used (kWh) = hours of use x (wattage of bulb divided by 1000)
Cost = kWh x electric rate
Lifecycle costs = bulb price + lifetime electricity costs
= bulb price + (electric rate x bulb lifetime x wattage of bulb /1000)
*CFL lifetime is 6,000 hours
incandescent bulb life time is 750 hours, so it takes 8 incandescents for every 1
CFL
Greenhouse Gas Emissions (pounds of pollution) = kWh x 1.54 pounds/kWh

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Extension/Alternate Activities
For a social sciences or language arts class:
Have the students do the same research as described above, but instead of or in
addition to doing the mathematical comparison above, have the students write a
persuasive essay promoting the importance of using energy efficiently at home.
Or, students could take the material they learned in the research phase and
create a children's book that explains what energy efficiency is, why it is
important, and how individuals taking energy-saving steps can help.
For a science or technology class:
Form small groups of students (2-3 per group). Each group selects a method or
apparatus to display and demonstrate energy efficiency (like the demonstration
lighting project done above). The project should have a display showing how the
energy efficiency was tested and a poster chart showing the projected energy
and greenhouse gas savings over a set period of time. The chart can be created
using a spreadsheet program and enlarged to poster size. The students should
also submit a journal detailing the project that includes a statement of the
research question they sought to answer, documented research, data collection,
analysis, and results. The group should create a script from which each member
is able to explain the project, how it works, and the significance of the results with
regard to energy efficiency.
For a science or environmental club:
Encourage club members to prepare a presentation for a lower grade level class
about the importance of using energy efficiently and our environment, using the
CFL to demonstrate. Students can do the math to calculate the difference it
would make in energy and environmental benefits if everyone in their class
changed one light at home to a CFL, if everyone in their school did the same,
and then everyone in their city followed suit.
Electricity saved (kWh) = bulb lifetime hours x (wattage difference of bulbs
divided by 1000) x number of bulbs
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Prevented (pounds of pollution) = kWh x 1.58
pounds/kWh
Emissions equivalency in trees planted (acres of trees) = emissions prevented
8,066

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