Lesson Description:
As energy demands increase and the resources to meet those demands dwindle and continue to prove harmful to the environment, society is becoming more conscious of conserving energy. One way do this is to improve one’s home energy efficiency. Through this module, students will understand where energy can be wasted in the home, how to rectify this and come up with a plan to improve their homes.

I am basing this module on a workshop i took through the Colorado Energy Science Center (CESC). I have used this lesson plan for the last 2 years, and I am writing this module to make it more challenging and interesting for high schoolers. The activity guide may be requested from the CESC at http://energyscience.org/index.html.

The final project will be for the students to design a realistic, research based report on how much time, money and energy it would cost/save if they were to improve their own homes so that they are more energy efficient.

Learning Objectives:

• Investigate how energy is used in homes
• Explore how energy can be used more efficiently
• Perform some of the tasks of real professional energy engineers by providing real data on the money and energy saved in an improved home
• Articulate what they have learned to home energy users & professionals in their community
• See that their work can make a tangible difference in their communities by reducing energy costs.
• Understand the larger picture of energy use and sources in our society
• Understand what a renewable energy source is
• Design a plan to improve the efficiency of their own home

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Lesson Type:

• Other

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Sustainability Topic:

• Energy
• Green Building

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Standards Addressed:
CONTENT STANDARD D: As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop an understanding of: 

• Energy in the earth system
• Geochemical cycles

CONTENT STANDARD E: As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop: 

• Abilities of technological design
• Understandings about science and technology

CONTENT STANDARD F: As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop understanding of:

• Personal and community health
• Population growth
• Natural resources
• Environmental quality
• Natural and human-induced hazards
• Science and technology in local, national, and global challenges

CONTENT STANDARD G: As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop understanding of:

• Science as a human endeavor
• Nature of scientific knowledge
• Historical perspectives

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Materials Needed:
Go to http://energyscience.org/index.html to order an activity guide. It is free! There are several of the activities that I will not do or modify.

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Lesson Documents:
efficient.pdf

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