Developed in Maine, middle school teachers and students in any state can use the "Power Sleuth Meets Power Meter" curriculum to examine electrical energy usage and explore energy conservation options. Students take daily readings from their home electric meters and collect data about the electric devices used at home each day. Using data trackers provided by Google or home energy monitiors that local electric companies may be willing to supply, students analyze the data they gather each month and form hypotheses for ways to lower family electric usage. Students take responsibility and ownership of energy conservation, establishing positive lifelong habits.
As the market for environmentally-conscious products grows, more manufacturers are producing supplies to meet the demand. Several in-home electric power meters are now available in a variety of retail stores. Purchase a minimum of three meters, such as Power Conscience and KillaWatt, and install in the same room at home. Over a period of seven days, compare readings at four-hour intervals between each meter and the electric power meter installed outside the house by the electric company. Use the data to determine the average energy consumption per room and conclude which meter is most accurate.
Most students have heard that even little things, such as turning off lights when leaving a room, can make a large impact on the environment. Conduct a class-wide experiment to determine if this is true. Students and the teacher will need to install an in-home electric meter to track normal energy usage at home for one month. Combine data to determine the total amount of energy consumption by all homes in that period. During the following month, make small changes that do not cost anything, such as turning off all lights during daylight hours or changing the thermostat setting by three degrees. Record the energy usage levels again and compare results at the end of the second month. Use city population data to calculate the potential energy savings for the community if everyone made small changes at home.
Students make energy conservation a family effort by asking parents and siblings to agree to give up something they love in order to reduce home energy consumption. For one month, students record daily electrical usage and home electric power meter readings. At the end of the month, each family member agrees to give up one item they believe requires a significant amount of electricity to power for the following month. A child with a video game system may choose to unplug it for the month, remove a TV from the bedroom or unplug a cell phone charger and rely on a land line for all calls. Parents may consider washing dishes by hand, unplugging a second monitor hooked into a computer or shaving with a manual razor instead of the electric counterpart. Compare the difference in the following electric bill and discuss which changes might be permanently adopted.