The Energy$mart Schools Program

Jennifer Webb, Mildred Church Dandridge, Pamela Peak, and Cyane Dandridge, Strategic Energy Innovations

Keywords

Abstract

This paper presents an Energy$mart Schools Program designed to teach students about energy efficiency in their schools, small businesses, and their homes. The Energy$mart Schools program works with high school students to introduce energy efficiency concepts. The program first teaches students to perform energy audits at home and in their schools; they then use their experience to perform audits in small businesses in their community. Students also participate in ‘energy patrols’ that are designed to change energy-use behaviors in their schools. Students give presentations on potential cost savings illustrated by the audits and patrols to a wide audience.

High school juniors and seniors are linked to set up and maintain their own ‘energy patrols.’ Continuity is built into the program as this year’s juniors become next year’s senior mentors to help the new group of high school juniors. With school district and teacher buyin, the program can be replicated and sustained indefinitely through mentoring and continuously reaching more students.

In this program, students help school districts to create energy efficient buildings that help to improve their learning environments while saving energy and money. Schools that save money can reinvest it in educational resources. The program also provides an inroad into the hard-to-reach small business market. Students show small businesses ways to reduce costs. In addition, project-based learning experiences provide students with a higher level of education, reaching some students where standard education may not.