One of the ways to influence people to conserve energy is to remind them of the consequences of leaving lights burning. Coal-powered sources of electricity are most easily emphasized in these types of PSAs. According to Source Watch, electricity producing coal plants created over two billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2004 and produce 60 percent of the sulfur dioxide released into the air. Emphasize in your PSA that simple acts like turning off lights can conserve energy and improve air quality. Visually demonstrating how small contributions by individuals have a large effect when done by everyone is an effective approach for conservation PSAs. Consider including video of drops filling a bucket to overflowing, or film people turning the lights off one at a time in office buildings in a large city like Chicago and overlay the overall cost savings of turning off unused lights.
The average household uses 920 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, according to Mother Earth News. And, according to Flex Your Power, unplugging electronics when not in use can save as much power as a refrigerator uses. Upgrading appliances is another cost savings that you can graphically demonstrate in a PSA. Show cold air cascading out of an open freezer while talking about wasting electricity on outdated appliances. Another approach would be to film an electrical meter. Show the meter speed up as someone turns on radios and lights in the morning, and then show it keep ticking at that higher rate as she leaves for the day without shutting these appliances off. Suggest setting the air conditioning higher and the electric heater lower in a PSA. Keeping the house five degrees warmer in the summer can cut air conditioning costs by 20 percent.
One approach from the Handbook of Bright Ideas for Public Education & Promotions Concerning Energy Conservation shows people giving their electric water heaters a vacation while they head to the Bahamas. Not only water heaters can use a day off. Advocate unplugging anything that isn't used when no one is home, especially for extended periods. Inform viewers that anything with a remote control quietly uses electricity while they are sleeping, off at school or gone for the week. Make a PSA suggesting that if unplugging all their stand-by appliances is too much work on a nightly basis, they can hook all their stand-by devices into a high quality power strip and simply turn the power switch off.
Produce a PSA touting the benefits of outdoor activities instead of cranking up the air conditioning. Cooking outdoors not only saves using the oven, but it also keeps the stove from heating the air in the house. Advise sitting in the shade outdoors in a cool breeze rather than turning up home air conditioning. Advocate taking a dip in a pool, visiting a beach or the woods while reducing the home cooling to 85 degrees. Show someone putting on a coat to go outside and remind people to put on a sweater instead of turning the electrical heat up in the winter.