Energy Education Outreach projects help schools to set up student-involved energy projects and develop energy-related educational materials. Energy education programs not only save money at schools, but help students develop the habit of saving energy that will stay with them throughout their lives. Projects directly involving the students help them to learn about energy resources and take an active role in teaching others the importance of using energy efficiently - all while having fun and gaining self esteem by doing worthwhile energy-saving projects and activities.

Watt Watchers

The WATT Watchers program assists the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) in planning and implementing energy education programs throughout Texas. Watt Watchers is a program for elementary, middle and high schools that is spreading all across Texas because it is a proven method of promoting energy conservation habits and reducing school energy bills. Lighting accounts for 25% to 40% of energy use in schools. Our energy future depends on decisions students will make about energy use. This program gives students an opportunity to make a difference by doing something for their schools, now. As of September 2007, 3,700 Texas classrooms have a WATT Watchers program.

WATT Watchers helps school districts save energy and money by getting students involved. It is simple and effective. Students patrol the halls of the schools reducing energy waste by turning off lights and leaving tickets for empty classrooms with the lights on. Turning off lights may sound trivial but it is one of the best ways to cut school energy use. For example, if one teacher changes his or her habits and remembers to turn out the lights when the class goes to lunch and for the first hour after school, the school will have a $50 energy savings each school year.

If every teacher in Texas remembered to turn out the lights during two unoccupied hours each day, it would save Texans $14 million dollars each year. Additionally, the students are doing their part to reduce pollution because there would be no generation of that electricity. At eight cents per kilowatt (kWh) hour, $14 million dollars represents 175,000,000 kWh. Saving that much energy will prevent 305 tons of sulphur dioxide, 508 tons of nitrous oxides (NOx) and 175,000 tons of carbon dioxide from entering our atmosphere.

Watt Watchers Support Materials
Watt Watchers provides the Watts News quarterly newsletter for students, teachers and energy managers. Schools participating in Watt Watchers are provided a toll free phone number for support as well as e-mail updates on energy issues. Watt Watchers offers: regional workshops; a CD-ROM with all the Watt Watchers materials; a five-year lapel pin for dedicated Watt Watchers sponsors; certificates of participation; classroom of the month pennants; Zero Hero Awards, and more. Watt Watchers support materials are available for download on the Watt Watchers web site.

How to get started in WATT Watchers?
Sign up for a free kit. Call 1-888-USWATTS or go online to WATT Watchers online to enroll. Once you enroll in the program you will receive a free kit which includes a set of 4 Watt Watchers binders, 4 name badges and 4 name tags with 4 lanyards, 4 pencils, a complete 34 page instruction manual on disk, forms, sample tickets and thank you notes. Watt Watchers will provide free support for the program, including:

• WATTS NEWS, a quarterly 20-page newspaper
• Toll-free phone and toll-free fax support line
• E-mail updates with monthly news for Watt Watchers
• Regional workshops
• Educational conferences
• CD-ROM with all the materials
• Five-year lapel pins for dedicated Watt Watchers sponsors
• Certificates for participation and Zero Hero Awards

To decrease energy waste and raise awareness of energy efficiency, Watt Watchers provides the following projects for schools:

WATT Watcher Student Patrols

Schools are provided training and patrol kits upon request to implement Watt Watchers. Student teams patrol assigned areas of the schools, checking for lights left on in unoccupied rooms. "Tickets" and thank you notes are left for the occupants as reminders to turn off lights when not needed. This is a proven method of promoting energy conservation habits and reducing school energy bills. Lighting accounts for 25-40% of energy use in schools.

Watt Watchers gives students a hands-on opportunity to make a difference by doing something for their schools, and is now thriving in over 3,500 Texas schools. When teachers forget to turn out lights an extra 2 hours per day, i.e. at lunch or after school, it costs the district $50 per day per room. Our future depends on decisions students will make about energy use.

High School District Energy Council

In high schools, the Watt Watchers program is known as the Energy Council. The High School District Energy Council organizes students to assist the district energy manager in promoting energy efficiency awareness in schools. Students from each high school district form a committee or council led by the energy manager. The council identifies and implements projects that help the district realize its goals of energy efficiency.

Student Projects
Students mentored by the school district energy manager may decide to get involved in a variety of projects such as: school energy audits, energy displays in school and community, auditing of utility bills, weatherization of homes in the community, and mentoring of elementary school students. See this photo of El Paso's Gadsden High School students spending a Saturday morning weatherizing homes for senior citizens.

Leadership Training
A regional Energy Encounter is a one-day energy leadership training that combines the expertise of school district energy managers, area energy experts, teachers, and Watt Watchers staff in educating students about energy issues as well as how to conduct projects and promote energy efficiency in their schools and communities.

Traveling Energy Exploration Stations

The Traveling Energy Exploration Stations are available to teachers to check out and use in their classrooms for up to a month. The stations include a wide variety of materials that can be used by the teacher or as a center for the students. Among many options, students can construct solar cookers, solar hot water heaters and solar cars. Students can also use a Watt's Up Meter to plug an appliance, like a hair dryer, into the meter and do calculations to determine how much it costs to use the appliance. The demand for these stations has been high and additional stations are being created to meet this demand.

Knowledge is Power

Knowledge is Power is an energy efficiency curriculum supplement for grades K-8. The lesson plans on energy conservation and energy efficiency are correlated to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills and are available to teachers across the state. The lessons range from stories and school lighting surveys for kindergarten to cost effective buying and appliance surveys for middle school grades. The curriculum has a broad subject range which incorporates math, science, social studies, reading, language arts and writing in most of the lessons.

Sleep is Good - Computer Power Management

Sleep is Good is a computer monitor management tool that puts monitors to "sleep," thus saving energy. Screen Savers do not save energy. A typical monitor uses 60-90 watts, but in sleep mode a monitor uses 2-10 watts. The Energy Star computer software may not be enabled on individual computers, but schools can use free Energy Star software to capture savings. Computer networks can be utilized to put all monitors to sleep at once. All of these practices will save energy and money and prevent pollution as well.

Texas schools have implemented the Sleep is Good computer software. Over 136,000 school monitors now use this software, saving 42 million kWh and reducing energy costs by $2 million annually. If all of the estimated 1.2 million computer monitors in Texas schools were enabled for monitor power management, Texas would save up to $20.5 million a year.

Junior Solar Sprint (JSS)

The JSS is a U.S. Department of Energy classroom-based, hands-on educational project. The objective of the Junior Solar Sprint competition is to design and build a vehicle that will complete a race in the shortest possible time using the available power. Teams purchase a kit containing a solar PV panel and a motor. Using any other materials, competitors will design and build a solar-powered vehicle that will race on a 20-meter racecourse. The winner of the competition will be the team whose vehicle is the top finisher in a series of head to head elimination rounds.

The primary goals of the JSS are to: generate enthusiasm for science and engineering at a crucial stage in the educational development of students; improve student understanding of scientific concepts and renewable and innovative energy technologies; and encourage students to consider technical careers at an early age.

Source: American Solar Energy Society

Teachers Solar Sprint, too!
Watt Watchers has teamed up with the Texas Solar Energy Society to bring Junior Solar Sprint to middle school teachers across the state. At training workshops, teachers learn how to build solar cars and race them against other teachers. At the end of the workshop the solar car is given to the teacher, and they are provided with all the information needed to implement Junior Solar Sprint. The teacher is encouraged to share this information with other science teachers in their school districts.

Weatherization Training

The Weatherization Training project trains high school students on how to weatherize homes and businesses. Student energy councils from several districts select a low-income home to weatherize. Area hardware stores usually provide the materials for free. This win-win project helps the low-income home owner and teaches the students techniques to improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses within the framework of community involvement. he Benchmarking Project is a software tool that is used to compare school district energy usage with that of other schools on a national level. Assistance with this service is available upon request.

Energy Efficient Education: Cutting Utility Costs in Schools

In 2001, amid state and national reports of rising energy bills, the Comptroller of Public Accounts directed SECO and the Texas School Performance Review office to find and share new ways to help schools hold the line on energy costs. Although Energy Efficient Education: Cutting Utility Costs in Schools was printed in 2001, the basic information on techniques to save energy is still relevant. Using the recommendations on the list of Ten Ways to Cut Energy Costs in Schools will equip school districts with the tools necessary to reduce the cost of operating facilities. From establishing an energy policy to identifying discounts, this publication explains strategies to use in cutting costs. The publication can be found at www.window.state.tx.us./tspr/energy.

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