Commercial electricity rates can be a significant line item on a district’s budget. The nearly 100,000 public K-12 schools in the U.S. represent about 5% of commercial building energy consumption. These schools spend more than $8 billion annually on energy — yet up to 30% of school energy is wasted!
This means there’s room for energy-saving efforts, which can help save money. The savings could be allocated to more beneficial school resources or used to lessen residential school taxes.
With a new school year just around the corner for many Texas teachers and students, it’s the perfect time to think about ways to help the planet by saving energy in the classroom.
Back-to-school power tips
Here are some helpful tips for teachers and students to help save power in schools:
Explain the importance of energy conservation
Teachers can plant a seed in young minds for a brighter future by explaining, in an age-appropriate way, why it’s important to conserve resources like electricity. Students will start understanding the “why” behind energy-saving efforts instead of just seeing them as more tasks to complete.
Practice energy awareness
Once students know better why they should conserve electricity, everyone can have their energy radars on alert and look for ways to use less energy. Whether it’s turning off the lights while watching a video, upcycling materials (since it takes energy to create them) during arts and crafts, or sharing a classroom laptop with a classmate, being energy-aware will become automatic as the weeks go on.
Turn off electronics and lights when not in use
Speaking of electronic devices, turning them off after use will help save energy. Many classrooms have one device per student. Think of all the power that could be saved if the more than 75 million U.S. students made this a classroom habit.
While energy use varies from school to school, lighting is typically one of the top energy end uses. Turning off lights in bathrooms, unused classrooms, and during recess can make an impact.
Make a game of it
Fun lessons are lessons that stick, so make learning about saving energy enjoyable. Who will be on energy patrol in the classroom each day? How many ways can students brainstorm to be more energy efficient at school or home? Could the class earn a party after a month of their energy awareness efforts? Having students get creative and become part of the solution empowers them to see things differently than older generations.
Discuss energy across subjects
Energy is everywhere, from science and math to social studies and language arts. Why not incorporate energy conservation into lesson plans? Here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling:
- Science: Build a solar oven or conduct an energy audit of the school
- Math: Graph the school’s energy usage over the last 12 months or calculate how much electricity a school appliance costs to operate using a watt meter
- Social studies: Compare energy usage in different countries or discuss how electricity usage has changed over time
- Language arts: Write a persuasive essay about the importance of using less electricity or create posters to hang around the school encouraging energy conservation
In addition to these tips, check out the thorough ENERGY STAR® Energy Efficiency Student Toolkit for more ideas and valuable information for students of all ages.
Energy providers that offer commercial electricity rates in Texas
Many retail electricity providers who supply homes across Texas with energy also offer commercial electricity rates for businesses, organizations and public schools. Trusted residential power providers like Direct Energy, Reliant Energy and Green Mountain Energy also provide power in schools and other large groups.
School districts can potentially save money by switching to a better commercial electricity rate from one of these providers, in addition to energy-saving efforts by teachers and students.
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Check out Everything Energy’s powerful search tools to find the best electricity plan for your home and needs. You can easily filter, search and compare electricity plans and providers here.