Look at conservation case studies about topics that are important in our homes and communities.
Through case study inquiries, students will focus on one of three conservation topics, sharing what they’ve learned with the rest of the class.
Organize your students into small groups and introduce the three topics:
Give each group the "Investigations in energy conservation" worksheet and have them select one of the topics.
Groups will need to use their devices or computers to complete their investigations. Have them answer the questions and complete the tasks on their worksheet.
As they are finishing their investigations, encourage students to decide on the key points they’d like to share with the class.
When the groups have completed their research, gather groups that share a topic to design a presentation. They will need to decide on a maximum of five key points they want to communicate, and plan how to share them with the class.
Give each topic group a maximum of five minutes to present what they’ve learned.
In Canada, EnerGuide® labels help consumers understand the energy use of major appliances. This allows people to compare the efficiency of different makes and models of appliance.
In the past, most utility companies used electromechanical meters to measure the amount of electricity consumed by a household or business. These meters measure the energy used in kilowatt-hours and the utility bills the customer for every kilowatt-hour used. Electromechanical meters only capture the total energy consumption.
For people to make informed decisions about their use of electricity, though, they need specific and real-time information about how much they’re using.
Smart meters accurately measure a household’s energy use throughout the day and periodically transmit the data to utility companies. They can also measure the amount of power a household may produce.
Having this detailed information enables the utility to more effectively manage the supply of energy based on demand, which leads to efficiencies and cost savings. The information also creates opportunities for customers and communities to generate their own power from clean sources, such as solar panels, wind, biomass and geothermal generation, which can be sold back to the utility.