Energy+Communal+Project


 * This is where we will keep track of ideas and modifications of the new Energy Communal Project on [|Vampire Electronics].



Synopsis: - Many of our electronics continue to use electricity even when they are in standby mode. For instance, you may have noticed that your tv or video games console (Nintendo, PS3, or Xbox) have glowing lights even when you are not using it. This is because it is not completely off and continues to draw power from the electric company. The end effect being that you are increasing your carbon footprint and wasting valuable green on something you are not even using. These standby devices have come to be known as vampire electronics. We want to see the impact of these devices on the middle schools participating in the SMS program. We may even be able to help the public school save some money.

- We will focus mainly on the power wasted by computers and household electronics. - To measure electric power, we will the "[|Kill A Watt]."

__Problem Statement__ How much power is wasted by vampire electronics at our middle schools?

__Activities__ 1. //[Engagement]//
 * Pixton comic PBL: A pixton comic mystery, which will ask the students to give ideas on how to save the day!
 * [[file:Vampire electronics PBL.docx]]

2. Household Electronics //[Exploration]// >>> where $0.20 is what the electric company charges you for every kilowatt-hour. 3. //[Explanation]// 4. School-wide Survey //[Elaboration]// 5. Putting together the "Pitch" for Change //[Extension]//
 * Students will explore the energy usage of different household electronics and other things found around the class:
 * Ask the students to list devices that they would like to test.
 * Measure the power consumption of their devices in Watts
 * Convert Watts to Dollars per month:
 * example) For an 85 watts device:85 * 24 hrs * 30 days / 1000 watts = 61.2kWhr * $0.20 = $12.24 a month
 * This happens to be how much a typical Apple laptop chargers uses. Just by having it plugged in all the time, that laptop charger is costing you about $12 a month.
 * Calculate Carbon Footprint - On average, electricity sources emit 1.306lbs CO2 per kWh (0.0005925 metric tons CO2 per kWh). State CO2emissions per kWh may vary greatly in accordance with the amount of clean energy in the energy supply. ( [] )
 * Students will explore the energy usage of the computer(s) in their classroom:
 * Plug kill a watt into a computer in the school and measure the energy use of the computer in Watts
 * Put the computer in “standby” mode and measure the energy used in Watts
 * Turn off the computer and measure the energy used in Watts
 * Convert Watts to Dollars per month figuring out how much energy is used if the computer is on all day, in sleep mode and turned off
 * (Optional) Video ([|Slay the Vampire!]) Pause/Stop after 50 sec, because this is a commercial. An edited version will be available on the sms dropbox that can be brought into school if youtube is blocked.
 * Each class will
 * Post on wikispace page their results for the cellphone and the computer
 * Compare the results between different classes within their school and other schools using bar graphs for money spent on Vampire electronics and also on the carbon footprint
 * Students will link their results to the carbon cycle and climate change.
 * Student will survey the school, counting how many computers they find in each room.
 * Report back the different types of computers they find. Different models may require measurement by the Kill A Watt.
 * Approximate how many hours/day the computers are in use, in “standby” mode and turned off
 * Determine the Watts used, the Dollars per month spent on the computers and the carbon footprint of the computers
 * Determine the amount of Watts saved and the Dollars per month saved on the computers if they are turned off when not in use.
 * Student will put together a plan on how they can convince other classrooms and the school as whole to implement change.
 * Make a wikispace page on how to save energy, video, pixton, speech, poster, rap, etc.
 * Elect a representative that will pitch the idea to other classrooms by showing them the website, video etc.
 * Student can take ownership by monitoring computer use in their other classrooms.
 * When a student is in their last class of the day, they can speak up or remind their teachers to unplug the computers.
 * We will attempt to gather energy information from the proper authorities to determine which school saved the most energy.