Activity Introduction

Quick summary: In this activity students complete a whole school energy audit. Using their data, students calculate usage, kilowatts and greenhouse gas emissions. Students make key recommendations on how energy use could be reduced at their school. They then link their findings to home-based projects that reduce energy usage.

This lesson can be used when working on the Energy Module of ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic Certification. By completing this lesson you will have completed the following actions:

Energy Checklist Compulsory Actions:

  • A1.1 – Have you completed an audit to assess energy usage around your school?
  • A1.2 – Have you collected data on past energy usage for at least two years?
  • A1.3 – Has this data been entered as your baseline data, and any anomalies explained?

Checklist data goals: No official data goals.

 Australian Curriculum Links:

Cross curriculum priorities

 Sustainability – OI.6 – The sustainability of ecological, social and economic systems is achieved through informed individual and community action that values local and global equity and fairness across generations into the future.

General capabilities

 Numeracy, Critical and creative thinking

Explicit content description

Science Year 7

  • Some of Earth’s resources are renewable, but others are non-renewable (ACSSU116)
 

Geography Year 7

  • Collect, select and record relevant geographical data and information, using ethical protocols, from appropriate primary and secondary sources (ACHGS048)
  • Reflect on their learning to propose individual and collective action in response to a contemporary geographical challenge, taking account of environmental, economic and social considerations, and predict the expected outcomes of their proposal (ACHGS054)
 

Mathematics Year 7

  • Convert between common metric units of length, mass and capacity (ACMMG136)
  • Identify and investigate issues involving numerical data collected from primary and secondary sources(ACMSP169)
 

Science Year 8

  • Science and technology contribute to finding solutions to a range of contemporary issues; these solutions may impact on other areas of society and involve ethical considerations (ACSHE135)
 

Geography Year 8

  • Collect, select and record relevant geographical data and information, using ethical protocols, from appropriate primary and secondary sources (ACHGS056)
  • Reflect on their learning to propose individual and collective action in response to a contemporary geographical challenge, taking account of environmental, economic and social considerations, and predict the expected outcomes of their proposal (ACHGS062)
 

Geography Year 9

  • Collect, select, record and organise relevant geographical data and information, using ethical protocols, from a range of appropriate primary and secondary sources (ACHGS064)
 

Science Year 9

  • Plan, select and use appropriate investigationmethods, including field work and laboratory experimentation, to collect reliable data; assess risk and address ethical issues associated with these methods (ACSIS165)
  • People can use scientific knowledge to evaluate whether they should accept claims, explanations or predictions (ACSHE160)
  • The values and needs of contemporary society can influence the focus of scientific research (ACSHE228)
 

Geography Year 10

  • Collect, select, record and organise relevant data and geographical information, using ethical protocols, from a range of appropriate primary and secondary sources (ACHGS073)
  • Reflect on and evaluate the findings of the inquiry to propose individual and collective action in response to a contemporary geographical challenge, taking account of environmental, economic and social considerations; and explain the predicted outcomes and consequences of their proposal (ACHGS080)

Syllabus Outcomes: GE4-7, GE4-8, GE5-7, GE5-8, SC4-11PW, SC5-13ES, SC5-11PW, SC5-5WS, MA3-11MG, MA3-12MG, MA3-9MG, MA3‑1WM, MA3‑2WM, MA3‑3WM. 

Connecting lessons: AuSSI Transport Audit.

Resources required: Student worksheet, Internet access, school electricity and gas bills, factsheets: Energy cheat sheet, Calculating GHG emissions and Typical Power Ratings.

Digital technology opportunities: Prezi presentation tool, digital sharing capabilities.

Keywords: Energy, audit, greenhouse gas emissions, school, appliances, C02e emissions.

Need some more support? Click on these leading organisations

CERES Logo EcoCentre

 

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Teacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal:

  • Students recognise the relationship between energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Students understand the relationship between watts, watt hours and kilowatts.
  • Students understand how to apply Emission Factor figures to the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Students recognise where energy consumption can be reduced at their school and home.

Teacher content information: Electrical energy is part of our everyday lives at home, at work and at school. Most of our energy is produced by burning fossil fuels and this has a range of environmental, social and economic impacts. One of the most significant impacts is the release of greenhouse gases. A solution is a transition to clean energy sources. Another solution is to think about our personal energy footprint and reduce the amount of energy we use.

In technical terms, energy is the ability to make changes or the capacity to do work. Energy appears in many different form

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Student Worksheet

powerlines2-hero

Thought starter: What is the difference between electricity and energy?

School Energy Audit Workbook - Starting your audit

Why do an energy audit?

By doing an energy audit you will be able to:

  • Look at the energy usage in your school;
  • Record the details of the energy used;
  • Make some evaluations or judgments about the school energy use; and
  • Make some recommendations to the school about how to save energy and money.

Understand more about energy and energy consumption with the Energy cheat sheet.

Doing your audit

Step 1. Work out where the energy is being used at your school.

Each group will be assigned some rooms that they will audit. Once in your room, have a look at the appliances (including lighting) that are in the room. Think about how often they are used: Everyday? Once a week? Once a month? Rarely? Never? Only in summer or only in winter? And where is the energy being wasted? For example, are lights being left on in unoccupied rooms? Record your answers on Ta

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