Change a Light, Change the World

Transcription

1 Change a Light, Change the World NEED Teacher Guide THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA

2 Table of Contents Invitation to Participate..3 NEED Teacher Guide.4 Levels of Campaign Involvement.4-8 Get the Facts about ENERGY STAR Qualified CFLs Ways to Save.11 Get the Facts about Mercury Elementary Electricity Intermediate Electricity Home Activity School Activity.32 Change a Light Bingo Harry Spotter and the Quest for the Right Light Letter to Parents 44 ENERGY STAR Pledge Sheet.45 I pledge to do my part to save energy and help reduce the risks of global climate change by replacing at least one light in my home with an ENERGY STAR qualified one THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 2

3 RE: Change the World, One Light at a Time, with ENERGY STAR Dear NEED Partner, The NEED Project, and our teachers, students, parents, and sponsors do our part to help protect our environment and educate others about energy. As part of our NEED team, sign up and make a Pledge to choose an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb the next time you change a bulb in your home, office, or school. Choose a bulb with the government s ENERGY STAR label for excellence in energy efficiency. The Pledge is a simple, but vital method of getting more people like you to commit to saving energy resources, one light at a time. Our goal is to get at least 1,000 individuals to take the Pledge. Just think, by reaching this goal we will make a significant impact on our environment, saving 282,000 kwh of energy and preventing 409,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. Take the ENERGY STAR Change a Light Pledge today and help us reach our goal! It s a small step that s already making a big difference. Visit to sign the Pledge. Thank you for your support! Sincerely, Mary Spruill Executive Director, The NEED Project 2007 THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 3

4 NEED Teacher Guide To Implement the ENERGY STAR Change a Light, Change the World Campaign As a NEED teacher, you are a community leader. You are committed to educating the next generation, providing the information they ll need to make wise energy decisions. ENERGY STAR s Change a Light, Change the World Campaign is an opportunity for your students to share what they have learned about energy efficiency with their families and community, and to make a difference, changing one light at a time. ENERGY STAR is a program of the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. This teacher guide provides campaign activity ideas with varying levels of involvement. First, determine your level of involvement by reading through this guide. Next, implement your activities, collect Pledges, and make a difference! Finally, share your accomplishments. Contact NEED at info@need.org to share your experience with the campaign. Contact ENERGY STAR at to share your campaign activities, successes and photos for possible inclusion on the national campaign website. Please note: Participants must be at least 13 years old to take the Pledge via the ENERGY STAR program s website. However, younger students may sign a paper Pledge with the addition of a parent s or guardian s signature. A paper Pledge is provided in this teacher guide. If paper Pledges are collected, you are responsible for EITHER: ENTERING ALL PAPER PLEDGES ON THE ENERGY STAR WEBSITE via OR MAILING ALL PAPER PLEDGES TO NEED AT: P.O. Box 10101, Manassas, VA and Pledges will be entered for you. Levels of Campaign Involvement Level 1 Yourself Activity 1: Learn About the Campaign Suggested Activities: Visit ENERGY STAR s website, and learn more about the campaign. View ENERGY STAR s two minute campaign video by clicking on Learn more about the campaign. Take the ENERGY STAR lighting quiz at Activity 2: Take Action Suggested Activities: Take the ENERGY STAR Change a Light Pledge at Purchase an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb, and replace an incandescent bulb in your home. Check the Pledge website to see if there are any special coupons there from ENERGY STAR partners THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 4

5 Level 2 Your School Encourage participation within your school community through the following activities. Activity 1: Educate Students and Their Families Background information on lighting and energy efficiency is available at these resources: ENERGY STAR website click on lighting. NEED s Energy Infobooks Suggested Activities: Make copies of pages Read with students about the ENERGY STAR Change a Light campaign, energy efficient lighting facts, how to choose an ENERGY STAR qualified light bulb, and how electricity is generated. Decide the best way to educate families about the campaign. Investigate the ENERGY STAR website. Click on lighting. Design posters or brochures with energy saving tips and lighting facts from ENERGY STAR. Take home and share with family members. Complete the HOME ACTIVITY (found on pages 30-31). Complete the SCHOOL ACTIVITY (found on page 32). Play a round of Change a Light Bingo (found on pages 33-35). Rehearse and perform Harry Spotter and the Quest for the Right Light (found on pages 36-43). Prepare simple props if desired. Activity 2: Encourage Parent Participation Suggested Activities: Ask parents to sign the Change a Light Pledge on the NEED website, A take home letter and Pledge sheet is available on page 44. Encourage parents to purchase an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb to replace the most often used incandescent bulb in their home. Activity 3: Get the Whole School Involved Suggested Activities: Sign your school up as a Pledge Driver. Make a goal to collect at least 100 Pledges. Register at Sign up as a second tier Pledge Driver under The National Energy Education Development Project. Not only will you be able to receive full credit for Pledges and track your school s progress against your goal, but The NEED Project will receive credit for the Pledges you collect, too! Becoming a Pledge Driver means you are for making a public commitment to invite your school and community to take the Pledge. You must plan to ask 100 people or more to take the Pledge. As a Pledge Driver, you can track and promote the difference your group is making in helping to preserve our environment and energy resources for future generations. You also gain access to customizable materials to engage your community in this important effort and personalized tools to track your group's progress against your own Pledge goal. You will also be able to compare how your school is doing next to other schools across the country THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 5

6 Make a presentation about the Change a Light Pledge campaign at a school assembly or Parent Teacher meeting (PTA, PTSA, etc.). Rehearse and create simple props for Harry Spotter and the Quest for the Right Light. Perform the play for other classrooms, or during a school assembly. Include a short presentation about the campaign and energy efficient lighting. Give energy efficiency tips during morning announcements. Run a classroom bulletin board contest. During a PTA meeting, open house, science night or sporting event, set up a student-run Pledge signing table. Have a display with informational facts available, and be prepared to answer questions. Design posters or brochures with energy saving tips and facts from ENERGY STAR. Post throughout the school. Have a contest to see which classroom can collect the most Pledges in one week. Challenge another school in your district to become a Pledge Driver and see which school can collect the most Pledges. Take a tour of your school and find areas where the school could be saving money on energy costs. Write a proposal to your principal with suggestions for ENERGY STAR qualified lighting. Include information on how much money the school will save on its utility bills. Help your energy club raise funds by selling ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs. A new tool from ENERGY STAR helps teachers/schools to purchase ENERGY STAR qualified lighting in bulk for fundraisers. The ENERGY STAR Quantity Quotes Bulk Purchasing tool is available at ENERGY STAR qualified light bulbs and light fixtures are available for purchase. Informational materials, additional curriculum ideas, bookmarks, stickers and promotional materials are available for download from ENERGY STAR online at click on Promotional Materials. For posters, coloring books (English and Spanish), brochures or more information about the ENERGY STAR Change a Light, Change the World Campaign; please contact: Jessica Steiner, Contractor to the ENERGY STAR Program Phone: (703) changealight@cadmusgroup.com THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 6

7 Level 3 Your Local Community Encourage participation in your local community by doing the school activities in level two. Activity 1: Educate your Community Suggested Activities: Encourage other schools in the district to participate in the campaign. Perform local radio and cable public service announcements. Customize materials from ENERGY STAR to design door hangers or post cards and distribute around the community. Design Facts of Light posters and hang in local businesses. Set up a Pledge drive/demonstration table to educate consumers/community members at a local business (library, grocery store, lighting/home improvement store, etc.). Solicit donations from local businesses that sell ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs. Donations might include single compact fluorescent bulbs or discount coupons to use when purchasing a CFL. (Students could design the coupons with energy saving facts.) Exchange the bulbs or coupons with adults who sign the Pledge at your demonstration table. Set up a Pledge drive/demonstration table to educate community members during a local high school home football game. Have a display with informational facts available, and be prepared to answer questions. This would be a great opportunity to sell ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs as a fundraiser, too. Invite the local media to cover your demonstration table/pledge drive events. Hold a letter writing campaign, or give a presentation to the Mayor s office asking for his/her support of the campaign. Ask the Mayor to Change a Light at City Hall, and to encourage local businesses to take the Pledge with their employees. Encourage your Mayor to mark ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day - October 3, 2007 with an official proclamation. Encourage transportation and public works officials to purchase ENERGY STAR qualified traffic signals. Encourage parents to get their employers involved in the Pledge drive. Make educational presentations to hotel managers in your community, encouraging them to switch to ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs or fixtures in their hotel rooms, and to add ENERGY STAR qualified EXIT signs in their buildings. Hotels can then let their patrons and the public know they have made this change, and invite hotel guests to do the same in their own homes. Take your show on the road. Perform Harry Spotter and the Quest for the Right Light for a local Rotary Club, Scout meeting, or similar service-minded organization. Present information about the campaign and energy efficient lighting. Encourage the organization to partner with you, or become their own Pledge driver, to get the message out to the community. Leverage the ENERGY STAR National Bus Tour. This year, to elevate national awareness of the ENERGY STAR Change a Light, Change the World campaign, ENERGY STAR will be launching the campaign s first-ever national bus tour on ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day (October 3, 2007). Representing the movement sweeping the nation, the Change a Light bus will travel across the United States stopping for local media and consumer events in selected cities The goal of the tour is to educate and activate Americans around energy efficiency and create a groundswell of support to save energy and help reduce global warming by putting ENERGY STAR light bulbs into the hands of consumers. Register all of your Pledge Drive or campaign events at THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 7

8 Level 4 Your State Encourage participation in your state by doing the activities in levels two and three. Activity 1: Declare October 3, 2007 ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day Suggested Activities: Hold a letter writing campaign, or give a presentation to the Governor or First Lady, asking for his/her support of the campaign. Ask him/her to officially proclaim October 3, 2007 as ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day. Encourage the Governor or First Lady to take the Pledge and change a light in the governor s residence or office. Write to your State Energy Office and encourage their involvement in the campaign. Find out about opportunities to partner with them. Contact your local utility and encourage their involvement in the campaign. Find out about opportunities to partner with them. Contact a college/university and encourage their employees, students and energy managers to get involved in the campaign. Invite them to help change out entire dormitories and campus facilities with ENERGY STAR qualified lighting. Or, encourage them to host an on-campus Pledge challenge. Take your education/pledge drive exhibit to a County Fair or major sporting event. Register your Pledge Drive or campaign events at Level 5 - National Activity 1: Earn National Recognition Suggested Activities: Submit a student designed scrapbook, covering your Change a Light activities, for the National Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement. (For instructions, review the NEED Projects and Activities booklet at Share the results of your activities with ENERGY STAR photos, news articles, outreach materials, whatever you have that illustrates your successful efforts! Interesting campaign snapshots from participants across the country are featured on the campaign web pages. your photos and suggested captions to Jessica Steiner, Contractor to ENERGY STAR, at changealight@cadmusgroup.com THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 8

9 Get the Facts on ENERGY STAR Qualified Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars. ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs: Use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. Save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb's lifetime. Produce about 75 percent less heat, so they're safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling. Are available in different sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture, for indoors and outdoors. How to Purchase a CFL 1. Place ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs in the fixtures you use most frequently. CFLs are most efficient and save the most when used in fixtures operated for several hours at a time (2 hours or more). 2. Certain CFLs are designed to work in dimmable and 3-way fixtures. Check the package to be sure you are buying the correct bulb. 3. Use ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs in the fixtures that are hard to reach such as ceiling fans, other ceiling fixtures, and enclosed outdoor fixtures. Because CFLs last longer, you enjoy the convenience of buying and changing bulbs less frequently. 4. ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs come in a multitude of shapes and sizes. Select the best shape and size to fit your needs and read the packaging to make sure that you select the right bulb for the right application. 5. Smaller sizes mean greater compatibility with your fixtures. Today s ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs are designed to be smaller and thinner than earlier models, so you can install them in a wider variety of fixtures, such as wall sconces, ceiling-mounted fixtures, and ceiling fans. 6. Qualified CFLs are available in a range of color temperatures: Warm, white light: Look for a color temperature of K. Cooler, white light: Look for a color temperature of K. 7. Recycle CFLs properly. Do not throw CFLs away in your household garbage if better disposal options exist. To find out what to do, first check or call EARTH-911 for local disposal options. See ENERGY STAR s Mercury in CFLs Fact Sheet (page 12) for more information. Where to Use CFLs ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs provide the greatest savings in fixtures that are on for a substantial amount of time each day. At a minimum, ENERGY STAR recommends installing qualified CFLs in fixtures that are used at least 15 minutes at a time or several hours per day. Because they are often used most, the best fixtures to use qualified CFLs in are usually found in your family and living room, kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and outdoors THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 9

10 How to Choose the Right Light Matching the right CFL to the right kind of fixture helps ensure it will perform properly and last a long time. CFLs perform best in open fixtures that allow airflow, such as table and floor lamps, wall sconces, pendants, and outdoor fixtures. For recessed fixtures, it is better to use a reflector CFL than a spiral CFL since the design of the reflector evenly distributes the light down to your task area. If a light fixture is connected to a dimmer or three-way switch, you'll need to use a special ENERGY STAR qualified CFL designed to work in these applications. Make sure to look for CFLs that specify use with dimmers or three-way fixtures. Choose a qualified CFL that offers a shade of white light that works best for you. For example, while most CFLs provide warm or soft white light for your home, you could choose a cooler color for task lighting. ENERGY STAR Qualified CFLs and Color ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs can produce varying shades of white light. The shade of white light is identified by the correlated color temperature or CCT, which is measured in Kelvin (K). Lower Kelvin numbers mean the light has a warmer color, while higher Kelvin numbers mean the light has a cooler color. One way to remember this is to think of the hottest part of a flame. The hottest part of a flame is the blue part, so, the higher the temperature, the cooler the light. The majority of CFLs available in the market offer soft or warm white light (2700K 3000K), which is comparable to an incandescent bulb. This color range works well in most residential settings and enhances warmer colors (red, yellow, orange) found in your home. Qualified CFLs are also available in higher Kelvin color temperature CFLs (3500K, 4100K, 5000K, 6500K) and will emit more white to bluish-white light. These products are usually identified with the terms "bright white," "natural" or "daylight." These colors will enhance cooler colors (blue, green, violet) in your home. To choose the ENERGY STAR qualified CFL with the right amount of light, find a qualified CFL that is labeled as equivalent to the incandescent bulb you are replacing. Light bulb manufacturers include this information right on the product packaging to make it easy for consumers to choose the equivalent bulb. Common terms include "Soft White 60" or "60 Watt Replacement." You should also check the lumen rating to find the right CFL. The higher the lumen rating, the greater the light output. Consult the following chart to determine what CFL wattage is best to replace your incandescent light bulb: Light Output Equivalency INCANDESCENT BULBS (WATTS) MINIMUM LIGHT OUTPUT (LUMENS) COMMON ENERGY STAR QUALIFIED LIGHT BULBS (WATTS) , , , THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 10

11 TOP 10 WAYS TO SAVE WITH LIGHTING 1) Change five lights. Replace your home s five most frequently used light fixtures or the bulbs in them with models that have earned the government s ENERGY STAR and save about $60 a year in energy costs. The 5 highest-use lights are typically found in the kitchen, family and living room, bathroom, and outdoor areas (such as a porch or post lamp). 2) Get 1 instead of 10. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) last up to 10 times longer than standard incandescent light bulbs, saving you time buying and replacing bulbs, and an average of $30 or more in energy costs over the life of each bulb. For each CFL you buy, you save as many as 10 trips to buy an incandescent bulb! 3) Look to lumens (not watts) for light. When selecting energy-efficient light bulbs, use lumens, or light output, as the guide to getting the right bulb. Energy-efficient lighting will provide the same amount of light or more while using fewer watts. 4) Consider the environmental savings. Your home can cause twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as your car! Most U.S. homes still get their electricity from power plants that burn fossil fuels and release greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. Every CFL can prevent more than 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. Every bit helps to reduce the risks of global climate change. 5) Use dimmers. Dimmers not only allow you to set a mood by providing a range of light output, but can also help decrease energy costs associated with lighting. When buying CFL bulbs and fixtures, check the packaging first to be sure that it will perform well on a dimmer. 6) Flip a switch when leaving a room. Saving energy and money can start by not wasting energy. When you leave a room, turn off the light and see the savings. 7) Safety first. The bulb in a halogen torchiere lamp burns at between 700-1,100 degrees Fahrenheit hot enough to fry an egg signaling a lot of wasted energy and money. To save energy, consider replacing it with a fixture that s earned the ENERGY STAR and operates at cooler, safer temperatures. 8) Put your lights on a schedule. Make sure your lights are on only when you need them. Install timers that automatically turn lights off and on according to your needs. Use motion detectors on outdoor security fixtures to prevent their being on all night. Use photo cells or photo sensors on outdoor lighting to allow lights to come on only when the sun is down. All ENERGY STAR qualified outdoor fixtures come with photocells or photo sensors. 9) Keep your cool with a ceiling fan. Are you using an old ceiling fan to cool and light a room in your home? When you re ready to replace it, choose an ENERGY STAR qualified ceiling fan/light combination model. It will use half the energy of a traditional ceiling fan with lighting. 10) Be part of a bigger change. Take the ENERGY STAR Change a Light Pledge at energystar.gov/changealight and join a growing community of people committing to change at least one light at home, to help ensure a brighter future.

12 Frequently Asked Questions Information on Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) and Mercury Why should people use CFLs? Switching from traditional light bulbs to CFLs is an effective, accessible change every American can make right now to reduce energy use at home and prevent greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change. Lighting accounts for close to 20 percent of the average home s electric bill. Changing to CFLs costs little upfront and provides a quick return on investment. If every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of more than 800,000 cars annually. Do CFLs contain mercury? CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing an average of 5 milligrams, which is roughly equivalent to an amount that would cover the tip of a ball-point pen. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact or in use. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury. It would take 100 CFLs to equal that amount. Mercury currently is an essential component of CFLs and is what allows the bulb to be an efficient light source. Many manufacturers have taken significant steps to reduce mercury used in their fluorescent lighting products. In fact, the average amount of mercury in a CFL is anticipated to drop by the end of 2007, thanks to technology advances and a commitment from the members of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. What precautions should I take when using CFLs in my home? CFLs are made of glass and can break if dropped or roughly handled. Be careful when removing the bulb from its packaging, installing it, or replacing it. Always screw and unscrew the lamp by its base (not the glass), and never forcefully twist the CFL into a light socket. If a CFL breaks in your home, follow the clean-up recommendations below. Used CFLs should be disposed of properly (see below). What should I do with a CFL when it burns out? EPA recommends that consumers take advantage of local recycling options for compact fluorescent light bulbs, where available. EPA is working with CFL manufacturers and major U.S. retailers to expand disposal options. Consumers can contact their local municipal solid waste agency directly, or go to and click on State Lamp Recycling Regulations & Contacts to identify local recycling options. If your state permits you to put used or broken CFLs in the garbage, seal the CFL in two plastic bags and put into the outside trash. CFLs should not be disposed of in an incinerator. ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs have a warranty. If the bulb has failed within the warranty period, return it to your retailer.

13 How should I clean up a broken fluorescent bulb? EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal guidelines: 1. Open a window and leave the room (restrict access) for at least 15 minutes. 2. Remove all materials you can without using a vacuum cleaner. Wear disposable rubber gloves, if available (do not use your bare hands). Carefully scoop up the fragments and powder with stiff paper or cardboard. Wipe the area clean with a damp paper towel or disposable wet wipe. Sticky tape (such as duct tape) can be used to pick up small pieces and powder. 3. Place all cleanup materials in a plastic bag and seal it. If your state permits you to put used or broken CFLs in the garbage, seal the CFL in two plastic bags and put into the outside trash (if no other disposal or recycling options are available). Wash your hands after disposing of the bag. 4. The first time you vacuum the area where the bulb was broken, remove the vacuum bag once done cleaning the area (or empty and wipe the canister) and put the bag and/or vacuum debris, as well as the cleaning materials, in two sealed plastic bags in the outdoor trash or protected outdoor location for normal disposal. What is mercury? Mercury is an element (Hg on the periodic table) found naturally in the environment. Mercury emissions in the air can come from both natural and man-made sources. Utility power plants (mainly coal-fired) are the largest man-made source, because mercury that naturally exists in coal is released into the air when coal is burned to make electricity. Energy efficient CFLs present an opportunity to prevent mercury emissions from entering the environment because they help to reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants. Coal-fired power generation accounts for roughly 40 percent of the mercury emissions in the U.S. EPA is implementing policies to reduce airborne mercury emissions. Under regulations EPA issued in 2005, mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants will drop by nearly 70 percent by For more information on all sources of mercury, visit EPA is continually reviewing its clean-up and disposal recommendations for CFLs to ensure that the Agency presents the most up-to-date information for consumers and businesses. For more information about compact fluorescent bulbs, visit ####

14 Elementary Electricity Electricity is a mysterious force. We can t see it like we see the sun. We can t hold it like we hold coal. We know when it is working, but it is hard to know exactly what it is. Before we can understand electricity, we need to learn about atoms. What are atoms? Everything is made of atoms every star, every tree, every animal. Even you and I are made of atoms. The air and water are, too. Atoms are the building blocks of the universe. They are very, very tiny particles. Millions of atoms would fit on the head of a pin. Atoms are made of even smaller particles. An atom looks like the sun with the planets spinning around it. The center is called the nucleus. It is made of tiny protons and neutrons. Electrons move around the nucleus in clouds, or shells, far from the nucleus. When an atom is in balance, it has the same number of protons and electrons. It can have a different number of neutrons. Protons and electrons attract each other. Electrons stay in their shells because a special force holds them there. Protons and electrons are attracted to each other. We say protons have a positive charge (+) and the electrons have a negative charge (-). Opposite charges attract each other. Electricity is moving electrons. The electrons near the nucleus are held tight to the atom. Sometimes, the ones farthest away are not. We can push some of these electrons out of their shells. We can move them. Moving electrons are called electricity. Electrons move from place to place. Electricity has been around forever. Lightning is electricity. It is electrons moving from one cloud to another or jumping to the ground. Have you ever felt a shock after walking across the carpet? A bunch of electrons jumped to you from another object. This kind of electricity is called static electricity. Electrons aren t moving through a wire, they are jumping from one object to another. Electrons repel each other. Have you ever rubbed a balloon over your head? Did your hair stand straight up on your head? If so, you rubbed electrons off the balloon. The electrons moved into your hair from the balloon. They tried to get far away from each other. They moved to the ends of your hair. They pushed against each other and made your hair move they repelled each other THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 14

15 Magnets are special. In most objects, all the atoms are in balance. Half of the electrons spin in one direction; half spin in the other direction. They are spaced randomly in the object. Magnets are different. In magnets, the atoms are arranged so that the electrons are not in balance. The electrons don t move from one end to the other to find a balance. This creates a force of energy called a magnetic field around a magnet. We call one end of the magnet the North (N) pole and the other end the South (S) pole. The force of the magnetic field flows from the North pole to the South pole. Have you ever held two magnets close to each other? They don t act like most objects. If you try to push the two North poles (N) together, they repel each other. If you try to push the two South poles (S) together, they repel each other. Turn one magnet around and the North (N) and the South (S) poles attract. The magnets stick to each other with a strong force. Just like protons and electrons, opposites attract. Magnets can make electricity. We can use magnets to make electricity. A magnetic field can pull and push electrons to make them move. Some metals, like copper, have electrons that are loosely held. They are easily pushed from their shells. Magnetism and electricity are related. Magnets can create electricity and electricity can produce magnetic fields. Every time a magnetic field changes, an electric field is created. Every time an electric field changes, a magnetic field is created. Magnetism and electricity are always linked together; you can t have one without the other. This is called electromagnetism THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 15

16 Power plants use magnets. Power plants use huge magnets to make, or generate, electricity. In a generator, a big coil of copper wire spins inside the magnets. As it spins, the magnetic fields push and pull electrons in the wire. The electrons in the copper wire flow into power lines. These moving electrons are the electricity that powers our houses. Power plants use giant wheels, called turbines, to spin the coils of wire in the generators. It takes a lot of energy to spin turbines. Power plants use many fuels to get that energy. Electricity travels through wires. The spinning turbines make electricity. It flows into power lines. The electrons flow through the power lines to our houses. They flow through the wires in our houses and back to the power plant. Then they start their journey again. Electricity moves through the wires very fast. In just one second electricity can travel around the world seven times. We get our electricity through wires. The power plant makes electricity. The electricity flows through transmission lines held up by power towers. The transmission lines carry large amounts of electricity to electric poles in cities and towns. Distribution lines carry small amounts of electricity from the electric poles to houses and businesses THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 16

17 Electricity travels in loops. Electricity travels in closed loops, or circuits (from the word circle). It must have a complete path from the power plant through the wires and back. If a circuit is open, the electricity can t flow. When we flip on a light switch, we close a circuit. The electricity flows through the light and back into the wire. When we flip the switch off, we open the circuit. No electricity flows to the light. It flows straight through the switch. Electricity does work. When we turn on a TV, electricity flows through wires inside the set, making pictures and sound. Sometimes electricity runs motors in washers or mixers. We use electricity every day. Electricity does a lot of work for us. We use it many times each day. It lights our homes and warms and cools and helps us clean them. It runs our TVs, VCRs, DVD players, video games, computers and fax machines. It cooks our food and washes the dishes. It can power our lawn mowers and leaf blowers. It can even run our cars. We use more electricity every year THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 17

18 Intermediate Electricity ELECTRICITY: THE MYSTERIOUS FORCE What exactly is the mysterious force we call electricity? It is simply moving electrons. And what exactly are electrons? They are tiny particles found in atoms. Everything in the universe is made of atoms every star, every tree, every animal. The human body is made of atoms. Air and water are, too. Atoms are the building blocks of the universe. Atoms are so small that millions of them would fit on the head of a pin. Atoms are made of even smaller particles. The center of an atom is called the nucleus. It is made of particles called protons and neutrons. The protons and neutrons are very small, but electrons are much, much smaller. Electrons spin around the nucleus in shells a great distance from the nucleus. If the nucleus were the size of a tennis ball, the atom would be the size of the Empire State Building. Atoms are mostly empty space. If you could see an atom, it would look a little like a tiny center of balls surrounded by giant invisible bubbles (or shells). The electrons would be on the surface of the bubbles, constantly spinning and moving to stay as far away from each other as possible. Electrons are held in their shells by an electrical force. The protons and electrons of an atom are attracted to each other. They both carry an electrical charge. An electrical charge is a force within the particle. Protons have a positive charge (+) and electrons have a negative charge (-). The positive charge of the protons is equal to the negative charge of the electrons. Opposite charges attract each other. When an atom is in balance, it has an equal number of protons and electrons. Neutrons carry no charge, and their number can vary. The number of protons in an atom determines the kind of atom, or element, it is. An element is a substance in which all of the atoms are identical. Every atom of hydrogen, for example, has one proton and one electron, with no neutrons. Every atom of carbon has six protons, six electrons, and six neutrons. The number of protons determines which element it is. Electrons usually remain a constant distance from the nucleus in precise shells. The shell closest to the nucleus can hold two electrons. The next shell can hold up to eight. The outer shells can hold even more. Some atoms with many protons can have as many as seven shells with electrons in them. The electrons in the shells closest to the nucleus have a strong force of attraction to the protons. Sometimes, the electrons in the outermost shells do not. These electrons can be pushed out of their orbits. Applying a force can make them move from one atom to another. These moving electrons are electricity THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 18

19 STATIC ELECTRICITY Electricity has been moving in the world forever. Lightning is a form of electricity. It is electrons moving from one cloud to another or jumping from a cloud to the ground. Have you ever felt a shock when you touched an object after walking across a carpet? A stream of electrons jumped to you from that object. This is called static electricity. Have you ever made your hair stand straight up by rubbing a balloon on it? If so, you rubbed some electrons off the balloon. The electrons moved into your hair from the balloon. They tried to get far away from each other by moving to the ends of your hair. They pushed against each other and made your hair move they repelled each other. Just as opposite charges attract each other, like charges repel each other. MAGNETS ARE SPECIAL In most objects, the molecules are arranged randomly. They are scattered evenly throughout the object. Magnets are different they are made of molecules that have North- and South-seeking poles. Each molecule is really a tiny magnet. The molecules in a magnet are arranged so that most of the North-seeking poles point in one direction and most of the South-seeking poles point in the other. This creates a magnetic field around the magnet. This creates an imbalance in the forces between the ends of a magnet. This creates a magnetic field around a magnet. A magnet is labeled with North (N) and South (S) poles. The magnetic force in a magnet flows from the North pole to the South pole. Have you ever held two magnets close to each other? They don t act like most objects. If you try to push the South poles together, they repel each other. Two North poles also repel each other. If you turn one magnet around, the North (N) and the South (S) poles are attracted to each other. The magnets come together with a strong force. Just like protons and electrons, opposites attract THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 19

20 MAGNETS CAN PRODUCE ELECTRICITY We can use magnets to make electricity. A magnetic field can move electrons. Some metals, like copper, have electrons that are loosely held; they are easily pushed from their shells. Magnetism and electricity are related. Magnets can create electricity and electricity can produce magnetic fields. Every time a magnetic field changes, an electric field is created. Every time an electric field changes, a magnetic field is created. Magnetism and electricity are always linked together; you can t have one without the other. This phenomenon is called electromagnetism. Power plants use huge turbine generators to make the electricity that we use in our homes and businesses. Power plants use many fuels to spin turbines. They can burn coal, oil, or natural gas to make steam to spin turbines. Or they can split uranium atoms to heat water into steam. They can also use the power of rushing water from a dam or the energy in the wind to spin the turbine. The turbine is attached to a shaft in the generator. Inside the generator are magnets and coils of copper wire. The magnets and coils can be designed in two ways the turbine can spin the magnets inside the coils or can spin coils inside the magnets. Either way, the electrons are pushed from one copper atom to another by the moving magnetic field. Coils of copper wire are attached to the turbine shaft. The shaft spins the coils of wire inside two huge magnets. The magnet on one side has its North pole to the front. The magnet on the other side has its South pole to the front. The magnetic fields around these magnets push and pull the electrons in the copper wire as the wire spins. The electrons in the coil flow into transmission lines. These moving electrons are the electricity that flows to our houses. Electricity moves through the wire very fast. In just one second electricity can travel around the world seven times. BATTERIES PRODUCE ELECTRICITY A battery produces electricity using two different metals in a chemical solution. A chemical reaction between the metals and the chemicals frees more electrons in one metal than in the other. One end of the battery is attached to one of the metals; the other end is attached to the other metal. The end that frees more electrons develops a positive charge, and the other end develops a negative charge. If a wire is attached from one end of the battery to the other, electrons flow through the wire to balance the electrical charge THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 20

21 A load is a device that does work or performs a job. If a load such as a light bulb is placed along the wire, the electricity can do work as it flows through the wire. ELECTRICITY TRAVELS IN CIRCUITS Electricity travels in closed loops, or circuits (from the word circle). It must have a complete path before the electrons can move. If a circuit is open, the electrons cannot flow. When we flip on a light switch, we close a circuit. The electricity flows from the electric wire through the light and back into the wire. When we flip the switch off, we open the circuit. No electricity flows to the light. When we turn on the TV, electricity flows through wires inside the set, producing pictures and sound. Sometimes electricity runs motors in washers or mixers. Electricity does a lot of work for us. We use it many times each day. In the United States, we use more electricity every year. We use electricity to light our homes, schools and businesses. We use it to warm and cool our homes and help us clean them. Electricity runs our TVs, DVD players, video games, computers, and fax machines. It cooks our food and washes the dishes. It mows our lawns and blows the leaves away. It can even run our cars. SECONDARY ENERGY SOURCE Electricity is different from primary sources of energy. Unlike coal, petroleum, or solar energy, electricity is a secondary source of energy. That means we must use other energy sources to make electricity. It also means we can t classify electricity as renewable or nonrenewable. Coal, which is nonrenewable, can be used to make electricity. So can hydropower, a renewable energy source. The energy source we use can be renewable or nonrenewable, but electricity is neither. GENERATING ELECTRICITY Most of the electricity we use in the United States is generated by large power plants. These plants use many fuels to produce electricity. Thermal power plants use coal, biomass, petroleum, or natural gas to superheat water into steam, which powers a generator to produce electricity. Nuclear power plants use fission to produce the heat. Geothermal power plants use heat from inside the earth. Wind farms use the kinetic energy in the wind to generate electricity, while hydropower plants use the energy in moving water. MOVING ELECTRICITY We use more and more electricity every year. One reason we use so much electricity is that it s easy to move from one place to another. It can be made at a power plant and moved long distances before it is used. There is also a standard system in place so that all of our machines and appliances can operate on electricity. Electricity makes our lives simpler and easier. Let s follow the path of electricity from a power plant to a light bulb in your home. First, the electricity is generated at a power plant. It travels through a wire to a transformer that steps up the voltage. Power plants step up the voltage because less electricity is lost along the power lines when it is at higher voltage. The electricity is then sent to a nationwide network of transmission lines. Transmission lines are the huge tower lines you see along the highway. The transmission lines are interconnected, so if one line fails, another can take over the load THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 21

22 Step-down transformers, located at substations along the lines, reduce the voltage from 350,000 volts to 12,000 volts. Substations are small fenced-in buildings that contain transformers, switches, and other electrical equipment. The electricity is then carried over distribution lines that deliver electricity to your home. These distribution lines can be located overhead or underground. The overhead distribution lines are the power lines you see along streets. Before the electricity enters your house, the voltage is reduced again at another transformer, usually a large gray metal box mounted on an electric pole. This transformer reduces the electricity to the 120 volts that are used to operate the appliances in your home. Electricity enters your house through a three-wire cable. Wires are run from the circuit breaker or fuse box to outlets and wall switches in your home. An electric meter measures how much electricity you use, so that the utility company can bill you. FUELS THAT MAKE ELECTRICITY Three kinds of power plants produce most of the electricity in the United States: fossil fuel, nuclear, and hydroelectric. Coal plants generate half of the electricity we use. There are also wind, geothermal, trash-toenergy, and solar power plants, which generate more than two percent of the electricity produced in the United States. FOSSIL FUEL POWER PLANTS Fossil fuel plants burn coal, natural gas, or oil to produce electricity. These energy sources are called fossil fuels because they were formed from the remains of ancient sea plants and animals. Most of our electricity comes from fossil fuel plants. Power plants burn the fossil fuels and use the heat to boil water into steam. The high-pressure steam spins a turbine generator to make electricity. Fossil fuel power plants produce emissions that can pollute the air THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 22

23 Fossil fuel plants are sometimes called thermal power plants because they use heat energy to make electricity. (Therme is the Greek word for heat.) Coal is used by most power plants because it is cheap and abundant in the United States. There are many other uses for petroleum and natural gas, but the main use of coal is to produce electricity. About 92 percent of the coal mined in the United States is sent to power plants to make electricity. NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS Nuclear power plants are called thermal power plants, too. They produce electricity in much the same way as fossil fuel plants, except that the fuel they use is uranium, which isn t burned. Uranium is a mineral found in rocks underground. A nuclear power plant splits the nuclei (centers) of uranium atoms to make smaller atoms in a process called fission that produces enormous amounts of heat. The heat is used to turn water into steam, which drives a turbine generator. Nuclear power plants don t produce air polluting emissions, but their waste is radioactive. HYDROPOWER PLANTS Hydro (water) power plants use the energy in moving water to generate electricity. Fast-moving water is used to spin the blades of a turbine generator. Hydropower is called a renewable energy source because it is renewed by rainfall. WHAT S A WATT? We use electricity to perform many tasks. We use units called watts, kilowatts, and kilowatt-hours to measure the electricity that we use. A watt is a measure of the electric power an appliance uses. Every appliance requires a certain number of watts to work correctly. Light bulbs are rated by watts (60, 75, 100), as well as home appliances, such as a 1500-watt hairdryer. A kilowatt is 1,000 watts. It is used to measure larger amounts of electricity. A kilowatt-hour measures the amount of electricity used in one hour. Sometimes it s easier to understand these terms if you compare them to water in a pool. A kilowatt is the rate of electric flow, or how fast the water goes into a pool. A kilowatt-hour is the amount of electricity, or how much water is added to the pool. We pay for the electricity we use in kilowatt-hours. Our power company sends us a bill for the number of kilowatt-hours we use every month. Most residential consumers in the United States pay about nine cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity. With the power shortages in California, people there will be paying much more. COST OF ELECTRICITY How much does it cost to make electricity? It depends on several factors: Fuel Cost The major cost of generating electricity is the cost of the fuel. Many energy sources can be used. Hydropower is the cheapest way and solar cells are probably the most expensive way to generate power. Building Cost Another key is the cost of building the power plant itself. A plant may be very expensive to build, but the low cost of the fuel it uses can make the electricity economical to produce. Nuclear power plants, for example, are very expensive to build, but their fuel uranium is very cheap. Coalfired plants, on the other hand, are less expensive to build, but their fuel coal is more expensive THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 23

24 Efficiency When figuring cost, you must also consider a plant s efficiency. Efficiency is the amount of useful energy you get out of a system. A totally efficient machine would change all the energy put in it into useful work, not wasting a single unit of energy. Changing one form of energy into another always involves a loss of usable energy. In general, today s power plants use three units of fuel to produce one unit of electricity. Where do the other two units of energy go? They don t disappear. We just can t use them as a practical source of energy. Most of the energy is lost as waste heat. You can see this waste heat in the great clouds of steam pouring out of giant cooling towers on some power plants. A typical coal plant burns about 8,000 tons of coal each day. About two-thirds of the chemical energy in the coal (5,300 tons) is lost as it is converted first to heat energy, and then into electrical energy THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 24

25 Measuring Electricity ELECTRICITY MEASUREMENT Electricity makes our lives easier, but it can seem like a mysterious force. Measuring electricity is confusing because we cannot see it. We are familiar with terms such as watt, volt, and amp, but we do not have a clear understanding of these terms. We buy a 60-watt light bulb, a tool that needs 120 volts, or a vacuum cleaner that uses 8.8 amps, and we don t think about what those units mean. Again, using the flow of water as an analogy can make electricity easier to understand. The flow of electrons in a circuit is similar to water flowing through a hose. If you could look into a hose at a given point, you would see a certain amount of water passing that point each second. The amount of water depends on how much pressure is being applied how hard the water is being pushed. It also depends on the diameter of the hose. The harder the pressure and the larger the diameter of the hose, the more water passes each second. The flow of electrons through a wire depends on the electrical pressure pushing the electrons and on the cross-sectional area of the wire. VOLTAGE The pressure that pushes electrons in a circuit is called voltage. Using the water analogy, if a tank of water were suspended one meter above the ground with a one-centimeter pipe coming out of the bottom, the water pressure would be similar to the force of a shower. If the same water tank were suspended 10 meters above the ground, the force of the water would be much greater, possibly enough to hurt you. Voltage (V) is a measure of the pressure applied to electrons to make them move. It is a measure of the strength of the current in a circuit and is measured in volts (V). Just as the 10-meter tank applies greater pressure than the 1-meter tank, a 10-volt power supply (such as a battery) would apply greater pressure than a 1-volt power supply. AA batteries are 1.5-volt; they apply a small amount of voltage or pressure for lighting small flashlight bulbs. A car usually has a 12-volt battery it applies more voltage to push current through circuits to operate the radio or defroster. The standard voltage of wall outlets is 120 volts a dangerous amount of voltage. An electric clothes dryer is usually wired at 240 volts a very dangerous voltage. CURRENT The flow of electrons can be compared to the flow of water. The water current is the number of molecules flowing past a fixed point; electrical current is the number of electrons flowing past a fixed point. Electrical current (I) is defined as electrons flowing between two points having a difference in voltage. Current is measured in amperes or amps (A). One 2007 THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 25

26 ampere is 6.25 X electrons per second passing through a circuit. With water, as the diameter of the pipe increases, so does the amount of water that can flow through it. With electricity, conducting wires take the place of the pipe. As the cross-sectional area of the wire increases, so does the amount of electric current (number of electrons) that can flow through it. RESISTANCE Resistance (R) is a property that slows the flow of electrons. Using the water analogy, resistance is anything that slows water flow, a smaller pipe or fins on the inside of a pipe. In electrical terms, the resistance of a conducting wire depends on the metal the wire is made of and its diameter. Copper, aluminum, and silver metals used in conducting wires have different resistance. Resistance is measured in units called ohms (Ω). There are devices called resistors, with set resistances, that can be placed in circuits to reduce or control the current flow. Any device placed in a circuit to do work is called a load. The light bulb in a flashlight is a load. A television plugged into a wall outlet is also a load. Every load has resistance. OHM S LAW George Ohm, a German physicist, discovered that in many materials, especially metals, the current that flows through a material is proportional to the voltage. In the substances he tested, he found that if he doubled the voltage, the current also doubled. If he reduced the voltage by half, the current dropped by half. The resistance of the material remained the same. This relationship is called Ohm s Law, and can be written in three simple formulas. If you know any two of the measurements, you can calculate the third using these formulas: voltage = current x resistance V = I x R or V = A x Ω current = voltage / resistance I = V / R or A = V / Ω resistance = voltage / current R = V / I or Ω = V / A 2007 THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 26

27 ELECTRICAL POWER Power (P) is a measure of the rate of doing work or the rate at which energy is converted. Electrical power is the rate at which electricity is produced or consumed. Using the water analogy, electric power is the combination of the water pressure (voltage) and the rate of flow (current) that results in the ability to do work. A large pipe carries more water (current) than a small pipe. Water at a height of 10 meters has much greater force (voltage) than at a height of one meter. The power of water flowing through a 1-centimeter pipe from a height of one meter is much less than water through a 10-centimeter pipe from 10 meters. Electrical power is defined as the amount of electric current flowing due to an applied voltage. It is the amount of electricity required to start or operate a load for one second. Electrical power is measured in watts (W). The formula is: power = voltage x current P= V x I or W = V x A ELECTRICAL ENERGY Electrical energy introduces the concept of time to electrical power. In the water analogy, it would be the amount of water falling through the pipe over a period of time, such as an hour. When we talk about using power over time, we are talking about using energy. Using our water example, we could look at how much work could be done by the water in the time that it takes for the tank to empty. The electrical energy that an appliance or device consumes can be determined only if you know how long (time) it consumes electrical power at a specific rate (power). To find the amount of energy consumed, you multiply the rate of energy consumption (measured in watts) by the amount of time (measured in hours) that it is being consumed. Electrical energy is measured in watt-hours (Wh). Energy (E) = Power (P) x Time (t) E = P x t or E = W x h = Wh Another way to think about power and energy is with an analogy to traveling. If a person travels in a car at a rate of 40 miles per hour (mph), to find the total distance traveled you would multiply the rate of travel by the amount of time you traveled at that rate. If a car travels for 1 hour at 40 miles per hour, it would travel 40 miles. Distance = 40 mph x 1 h = 40 miles If a car travels for 3 hours at 40 miles per hour, it would travel 120 miles. Distance = 40 mph x 3 hours = 120 miles The distance traveled represents the work done by the car. When we look at power, we are talking about the rate that electrical energy is being produced or consumed. Energy is analogous to the distance traveled or the work done by the car THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 27

28 A person wouldn t say he took a 40-mile per hour trip because that is the rate. The person would say he took a 40-mile trip or a 120-mile trip. We would describe the trip in terms of distance traveled, not rate traveled. The distance represents the amount of work done. The same applies with electrical power. You would not say you used 100 watts of light energy to read your book, because a watt represents the rate you use energy, not the total energy used. The amount of energy used would be calculated by multiplying the rate by the amount of time you read. If you read for 5 hours with a 100-W bulb, for example, you would use the formula as follows: Energy = Power x Time E = P x t Energy = 100 W x 5 hr = 500 Wh One watt-hour is a very small amount of electrical energy. Usually, we measure electrical power in larger units called kilowatt-hours (kwh) or 1,000 watt-hours (kilo = thousand). A kilowatt-hour is the unit that utilities use when billing most customers. The average cost of a kilowatt-hour of electricity for residential customers is about $0.09. To calculate the cost of reading with a 100-W bulb for 5 hours, you would change the watt-hours into kilowatthours, then multiply the kilowatt-hours used by the cost per kilowatt-hour, as shown below: 500 Wh divided by 1,000 = 0.5 kwh 0.5 kwh x $0.09/kWh = $0.045 It would cost about four and a half cents to read for five hours using a 100-W bulb. History of Electricity STARTING WITH BEN FRANKLIN Many people think Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity with his famous kite-flying experiments in 1752, but electricity was not discovered all at once. At first, electricity was associated with light. People wanted a cheap and safe way to light their homes, and scientists thought electricity might be a way. THE BATTERY Learning how to produce and use electricity was not easy. For a long time there was no dependable source of electricity for experiments. Finally, in 1800, Alessandro Volta, an Italian scientist, made a great discovery. He soaked paper in salt water, placed zinc and copper on opposite sides of the paper, and watched the chemical reaction produce an electric current. Volta had created the first electric cell. By connecting many of these cells together, Volta was able to string a current and create a battery. It is in honor of Volta that we measure battery power in volts. Finally, a safe and dependable source of electricity was available, making it easy for scientists to study electricity. A CURRENT BEGAN An English scientist, Michael Faraday, was the first one to realize that an electric current could be produced by passing a magnet through a copper wire. It was an amazing discovery. Almost all the electricity we use today is made with magnets and coils of copper wire in giant power plants THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 28

29 Both the electric generator and electric motor are based on this principle. A generator converts mechanical energy into electricity. A motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. MR. EDISON & HIS LIGHT In 1879, Thomas Edison focused on inventing a practical light bulb, one that would last a long time before burning out. The problem was finding a strong material for the filament, the small wire inside the bulb that conducts electricity. Finally, Edison used ordinary cotton thread that had been soaked in carbon. This filament didn t burn at all it became incandescent; that is, it glowed. These light bulbs worked, but they were batterypowered and expensive. The next challenge was developing an electrical system that could provide people with a practical source of energy to power these new lights. Edison wanted a way to make electricity both practical and inexpensive. He designed and built the first electric power plant that was able to produce electricity and carry it to people s homes. Edison s Pearl Street Power Station started up its generator on September 4, 1882, in New York City. About 85 customers in lower Manhattan received enough power to light 5,000 lamps. His customers paid a lot for their electricity, though. In today s dollars, the electricity cost $5 per kilowatt-hour! Today, electricity costs aboutnine cents per kilowatt-hour for residential customers, less for industry. AC OR DC? The turning point of the electric age came a few years later with the development of AC (alternating current) power systems. With alternating current, power plants could transport electricity much farther than before. In 1895, George Westinghouse opened the first major power plant at Niagara Falls using alternating current. While Edison s DC (direct current) plant could only transport electricity within one square mile of his Pearl Street Power Station, the Niagara Falls plant was able to transport electricity more than 200 miles! Electricity didn t have an easy beginning. Many people were thrilled with all the new inventions, but some people were afraid of electricity and wary of bringing it into their homes. Many social critics of the day saw electricity as an end to a simpler, less hectic way of life. Poets commented that electric lights were less romantic than gas lights. Perhaps they were right, but the new electric age could not be dimmed. In 1920, only two percent of the energy in the U. S. was used to make electricity. Today, about 39 percent of all energy is used to make electricity. As our use of technology grows, that figure will continue to rise THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 29

30 HOME ACTIVITY: Comparing Light Bulbs With your family, go to a store with a wide variety of light bulbs such as a home improvement store. Choose one incandescent bulb that you would likely buy for your home, such as a 60, 75 or 100 watt bulb and fill in the chart with information from the bulb box. Find an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) that produces the same light output (lumens) as the incandescent bulb and fill in the chart. Complete the equations for both bulbs to determine which bulb has the lower life cycle cost. Bulb Specifications Incandescent ENERGY STAR qualified CFL Light Output Life Expectancy Energy Used Cost Per Bulb lumens hours watts dollars How many bulbs are needed to produce 6,000 hours of light? 6,000 hours / life expectancy per incandescent bulb = incandescent bulbs needed 6,000 hours / life expectancy per CFL bulb = CFL bulbs needed What is the cost for bulbs to produce 6,000 hours of light? incandescent bulbs needed X $ per incandescent bulb = $ for incandescent bulbs CFL bulbs needed X $ per CFL bulb = $ for CFL bulbs What is the cost of electricity to produce 6,000 hours of light? watts for incandescent bulbs X 6,000 hours = watt-hours for incandescent bulbs watt-hours for incandescent / 1,000 watts per kilowatt = kilowatt-hours (kwh) for incandescent kilowatt-hours for incandescent X $0.09 per kwh = $ using incandescent bulbs watts for CFL bulbs X 6,000 hours = watt-hours for CFL bulbs watt-hours CFLs / 1,000 watts per kilowatt = kilowatt-hours (kwh) for CFLs kilowatt-hours for CFLs X $0.09 per kwh = $ using CFLs For a closer estimate of savings for your home, review your electric bill, and complete these equations using your local electric rate (cost per kwh) THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 30

31 Incandescent CFL Savings

32 SCHOOL ACTIVITY: Why Change a Light? The home activity concentrates on financial savings using CFLs, but there are other reasons to Change a Light! Review the home activity worksheet, and then use the following activity to challenge your students to think about additional benefits to using CFLs. Discuss with your students the flow of energy to light a bulb. Where do light bulbs get the energy to produce light? (electricity) Where does electricity come from? (power plant) How is electricity produced? (Typically, a fossil fuel such as coal is burned, making steam that turns a turbine, which spins a magnet surrounded by a coil of copper wire, producing electricity. For more information, read the electricity generation fact sheets included in this teacher guide on pages ) Where does coal get its energy? (coal is made of ancient plants that stored the sun s energy through photosynthesis) Discuss with your students the energy resources that are used to make electricity. What energy resources are used to make electricity? (biomass, coal, geothermal, hydropower, natural gas, petroleum, solar, uranium, wind) Which resources are renewable and nonrenewable? (renewable: biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind; nonrenewable: coal, natural gas, petroleum, uranium) Is most of the electricity produced in the United States made from renewable or nonrenewable resources? (nonrenewable - coal 50%, uranium 20%, natural gas 18.1%, hydropower 6.6%, petroleum 3%, all others 2.3%) How does Changing a Light impact our nonrenewable energy use? (CFLs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent lights to produce the same amount of light. Therefore, CFLs use less electricity, and consume fewer nonrenewable resources.) Discuss with students, or have students investigate, what else is impacted by Changing a Light. Natural resources used to manufacture light bulbs Emissions from electricity production Relationship between energy production, home energy use and climate change Light bulb packaging Disposal of used light bulbs Time and convenience for consumers Extension Activities: Investigate how incandescent bulbs and CFLs operate. Contact your local utility to find out what natural resources are used to produce your electricity. Trace the flow of energy from the sun to a light bulb in your classroom. Be a bulb detective! Find incandescent light bulbs in your school that can be replaced by CFLs THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 32

33 Teacher Guide Change a Light Bingo Change a Light Bingo is a great icebreaker for an energy club meeting, or a fun classroom activity to introduce the Change a Light Campaign. Grades: All Preparation: Low Time: 45 minutes GET READY Duplicate as many Change a Light Bingo sheets as needed for each person in your group. In addition, decide now if you want to give the winner of your game a prize and what the prize will be. GET SET Pass out one Change a Light Bingo sheet to each member of the group. GO Part One: Filling in the Bingo sheets Give the group the following instructions to play the game: Change a Light Bingo is very similar to regular bingo. However, there are a few things you ll need to know to play this game. First, please take a minute to look at your Change a Light Bingo sheet and read the 16 questions at the top of the page. Shortly, you ll be going around the room trying to get 16 people to answer these questions so you can write their names in one of the 16 boxes. When I give you the signal, you ll get up and ask a person one of the questions at the top of your Bingo sheet. If the person gives what you believe is a correct response, write the person s name in the corresponding box on the lower part of the page. For example, if you ask a person question D and he or she gives you what you think is a correct response, then go ahead and write the person s name in box D. A correct response is important because later on, if you get Bingo, that person will be asked to answer the question correctly in front of the group. If he or she can t answer the question correctly, then you lose Bingo. So, if someone gives you an incorrect answer, ask someone else! Don t use your name for one of the boxes or use the same person s name twice. Try to fill all 16 boxes in the next 20 minutes. This will increase your chances of winning. After the 20 minutes are up, please sit down and I will begin asking players to stand up and give their names. Are there any questions? You ll now have 20 minutes. Go! Part Two: Playing the Game During the next 20 minutes, move around the room to assist the players. Every five minutes or so tell the players how many minutes are remaining in the game. Give the players a warning when just a minute or two 2007 THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 33

34 remains. When the 20 minutes are up, stop the players and ask them to be seated. Then give them the following instructions: When I point to you, please stand up and in a LOUD and CLEAR voice give us your name. Now, if anyone has the name of the person I call on, put a big X in the box with that person s name. When you get four names in a row across, down, or diagonally shout Change a Light Bingo! Then I ll ask you to come up front to verify your results. Let s start off with you (point to a player in the group). Please stand and give us your name. (Player gives name. Let s say the player s name was Joe. ) Okay, players, if any of you have Joe s name in one of your boxes, go ahead and put an X through that box. When the first player shouts Change a Light Bingo, ask him (or her) to come to the front of the room. Ask him to give his name. Then ask him to tell the group how his bingo run was made, e.g., down from A to D, across from C to O, and so on. Now you need to verify the bingo winner s results. Ask the bingo winner to call out the first person s name on his bingo run. That player then stands and the bingo winner asks him the question that he previously answered during the 20-minute session. For example, if the question was can name two renewable sources of energy, the player must now name two sources. If he can answer the question correctly, the bingo winner calls out the next person s name on his bingo run. However, if he does not answer the question correctly, the bingo winner does not have bingo after all and must sit down with the rest of the players. You should continue to point to players until another person yells Change a Light Bingo. In case of a tie, ask the bingo winners to come to the front one at a time to verify their results. If time permits, you may wish to continue the game for second or third place winners THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 34

35 CHANGE A LIGHT BINGO A B knows the cost of a kilowatt-hour of electricity can name two renewable energy sources C has an ENERGY STAR appliance at home D knows which energy source generates the most electricity in the U.S. E F G H can name two ways to save energy at home has taken the ENERGY STAR Change A Light Pledge knows the inventor of the incandescent light bulb knows how electricity is generated I J K L can explain the concept of energy efficiency uses two CFLs at home can name two reasons to use an ENERGY STAR CFL knows the significance of the ENERGY STAR rating on appliances M N O P knows what a lumen is knows how much energy an incandescent bulb converts to wasted heat knows a greenhouse gas produced by the burning of fossil fuels knows what CFL stands for

36 Teacher Guide Harry Spotter and the Quest for the Right Light Key Concepts 1. Compact fluorescent bulbs are more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs. 2. ENERGY STAR qualified light bulbs and appliances are the most energy efficient you can purchase. 3. Spending more to purchase an efficient product now will save more money in the long run on utility costs. Enriched Vocabulary appliance antiques efficient emissions flummoxed humanitarian initially lumens pledge qualified quarrelling unique Teacher Tip: Stop your class after Scene 2. Have them predict what kind of deal Roni is planning. Assessment 1. Draw a blueprint of your house, indicating the light bulbs in each room. Compute how much your parents could save on their electric utility bill by switching to CFL s. What impact would changing this many bulbs have on the environment? Go to and follow the link to Lighting for helpful information and resources. 2. Name three ways to save energy mentioned in this play. 3. Write a letter to your parents giving them suggestions on how they could reduce their electric and/or utility bills. 4. Do a picture cause/effect chart showing what happens in Professor Dieseldore s office. Enrichment 1. Do a survey of your school. Are their ways you could save energy? Write a proposal to your principal with your suggestions. 2. If your class, or energy club, is participating in the ENERGY STAR Change a Light Pledge campaign, discuss how you will get your message out to your parents, and the community. Set a class goal for the number of Pledges you want to collect. Write out a script that you will use when you approach someone (relative, neighbor) about signing the Pledge. Practice the script in teams until you feel comfortable sharing what you have learned about energy efficient lighting. 3. Continue the story. What else do you think should be done with additional money saved? 2007 THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 36

37 Harry Spotter and the Quest for the Right Light Characters: FLUORENZO: a prankster, loves to stir up trouble RONI: extremely intelligent, passionate about causes FRIENDS: the rest of the class HERMAN: easily frustrated, passionate about saving energy HARRY: a calming influence on his friends NEVI: a curious friend PROFESSOR DIESELDORE: headmaster SCENE 1 HANGING OUT IN THE POTION ROOM (Roni is sitting at a table with newspaper ads spread around her, reading, and occasionally circling items with a quill. Herman sits nearby with his head in his hands. Fluorenzo, Nevi and friends are mixing potions.) FLUORENZO: Hey Roni, are you wishing on the stars all over that newspaper ad that your potion will mix itself? RONI: It s the ENERGY STAR. This mark indicates which household appliances are most energy efficient. And BTW, I mixed my potion yesterday! FRIENDS: ENERGY STAR light, ENERGY STAR bright, Energy efficiency is always right. I wish I may, I wish I might, Save energy and money with the STAR tonight! (Harry enters the room. Herman s head pops up.) HERMAN: Harry! About time! Maybe you can talk some sense into her. HARRY: What has she done now? RONI: SHE is right here. And SHE is just doing the humanitarian thing. Of course, it takes a HUMAN to understand that. HERMAN: Did did did she just say I wasn t HUMAN? HARRY: What are you doing, Roni (he shuffles through newspapers) looking at kitchen stuff? 2007 THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 37

38 NEVI: Hogwatts just received a big grant and Professor Dieseldore is asking students to submit proposals on how to spend the money. Roni and Herman are quarrelling over how to spend it. FLUORENZO: Let s propose a new headmaster (chanting) Dieseldore is a bore, Dieseldore is a bore. FRIENDS : (giggle quietly in the background) HERMAN: Harry, you know we need brighter lights on the sports field. During the last match, the crowd didn t realize the game was over for fifteen minutes! RONI: Although sports are entertaining, they aren t as important as the House Elves working conditions. NEVI: Here we go again RONI: During my chore time in the kitchens, I saw the appliances the House Elves use. They re antiques! HERMAN: So let them sell the antiques for money to buy new ones! RONI: (giving Herman a dirty look) As I was saying, they have to run the dishes through the dishwasher twice after every meal, because the old dishwasher doesn t work. Do you know how many dirty plates there are after all the students eat? The washing machines only hold one robe at a time, and the refrigerators are ancient! NEVI: But they can still do their jobs using the old appliances. We NEED those lights our athletes can t perform in the dark! RONI: You are all impossible! (exits the room) HARRY: I m flummoxed; they both sound like important causes. HERMAN: Give me those advertisements, I need to look up how much new lighting will cost THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 38

39 SCENE TWO LUNCH TIME IN THE DINING ROOM (Nevi, Herman, Fluorenzo, Roni and Harry are sitting at a table. Other friends are eating nearby.) NEVI: Hey, Herman, what did you find out about the new lights for the athletic field? HERMAN: Did you know there are different kinds of light bulbs? FLUORENZO: Like red and blue? RONI: I think he means incandescent, compact fluorescent, halogen HARRY: Or maybe he s talking about the ENERGY STAR qualified lighting from the newspaper ads. FRIENDS: ENERGY STAR light, ENERGY STAR bright, Energy efficiency is always right. I wish I may, I wish I might, Save energy and money with the STAR tonight! HERMAN: The incandescent bulb, Thomas Edison s light bulb from 1879, was really inefficient. In an incandescent bulb, 90 percent of electric power is converted into heat, not light. FLUORENZO: We don t want those for our sports field, it s too hot down there already! HARRY: I ll bet you found a better option. HERMAN: Compact fluorescent bulbs are much more energy efficient, not making as much wasteful heat. ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to ten times longer. They produce about 75 percent less heat, too, so they re safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling. NEVI: Are those the funky looking spiral bulbs? RONI: They re usually called CFLs for short. And there is nothing wrong with looking a little unique THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 39

40 FLUORENZO: (quietly to the friends) Roni knows all about looking unique. FRIENDS: (Giggle quietly in the background.) HERMAN: Actually, ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs come in many shapes, sizes and shades. NEVI: Why isn t everyone using them if they save money? HERMAN: You see an incandescent bulb is initially pretty cheap to buy, while a CFL is more expensive. But, if you consider that ENERGY STAR lights last longer and use less electricity to operate, over the life of an average bulb, you save about 30 dollars! HARRY: You can SAVE money by SPENDING money? NEVI: If you multiply 30 dollars by all the bulbs we have now why that s A LOT OF MONEY saved! HERMAN: I did some research online too. ENERGY STAR has a website with information about energy efficient lighting. I even signed the Change a Light Pledge. HARRY: What s a Pledge? RONI: It s like a promise. NEVI: What did you Pledge to do? HERMAN: Just what it says Change a Light. I promised to change one light bulb in my house from an incandescent to an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent. FLUORENZO: What kind of difference would that make? HERMAN: Let me break it down for you guys. (Turn on overhead projector with these facts already written out. Herman points a wand at the wall as if he is magically projecting the image as he talks.) 2007 THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 40

41 INCANDESCENT 1600 Lumens = 100-Watt bulb Lifetime cost =$60.48 ENERGY STAR QUALIFIED CFL 1600 Lumens = 25-Watt bulb Lifetime cost =$15.12 LIFETIME ENERGY COST SAVINGS $ $15.12 = $ pounds of carbon dioxide emissions HERMAN: I took out the 100-watt incandescent bulb from my dorm room, and replaced it with an ENERGY STAR qualified 25-watt CFL. They both give off the same amount of light, or lumens, so I can t tell the difference when I m doing my homework. This one change will save Hogwatts $45 in energy costs over the life of the bulb. And, it saves 691 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. HARRY: You save money and you help the environment. Very cool. RONI: Is there information on ENERGY STAR qualified appliances on that website too? HERMAN: There sure is. Go to There s information on clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, dehumidifiers, room air conditioners and lots of other suggestions on how to save energy. RONI: You know, Herman, I m thinking we can work out a deal on this proposal. SCENE THREE THE MEETING IN PROFESSOR DIESELDORE S OFFICE (Herman and Roni are sitting at his desk, the rest of the friends gather around the office.) PROFESSOR DIESELDORE: I understand the two of you are submitting a joint proposal for the grant money. HERMAN: We want to use the money to buy ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs for the playing fields, classrooms and dorms. PROFESSOR DIESELDORE: Those are pretty expensive bulbs, Herman. HERMAN: We learned that they may cost more initially, but in the long run, Hogwatts will save on its electric bill THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 41

42 FLUORENZO: We also want to share what we ve learned with the community during Friday s half time show. There will be flying tricks and a band HARRY: We ll just give a short presentation about energy efficient lighting and appliances, and we ll have a booth where we can answer questions and collect Change a Light Pledges. NEVI: If every family at Hogwatts would change their five most used 60-watt light bulbs to ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescents, they would save $35 in energy costs every year. PROFESSOR DIESELDORE: Saving money sounds like an excellent idea. But Roni, what about new appliances for the House Elves? RONI: Our proposal is actually a two-part plan. HARRY: With the new efficient lighting, Hogwatts will save lots of money on its utility bill. PROFESSOR DIESELDORE: I m guessing you have plans for that money? RONI: We want to use our savings to buy ENERGY STAR qualified appliances for the House Elves. While doing our research on ENERGY STAR s website, we learned that when buying an appliance, it has two price tags: what you pay to take it home and what you pay for the energy and water it uses. ENERGY STAR qualified appliances incorporate advanced technologies that use percent less energy and water than standard models. The money Hogwatts will save on our utility bills can more than make up for the cost of more expensive, but more efficient, ENERGY STAR models. PROFESSOR DIESELDORE: Sounds like a great proposal! HARRY: But wait there s more! HERMAN: With the money we save using the energy efficient appliances, we want to buy everyone new winter robes. Then we can turn down the thermostat next winter. RONI: And that will save Hogwatts even more money THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 42

43 PROFESSOR DIESELDORE: OK, I m convinced. You get your new lights, and your new appliances. This is the first time I ve given away money and saved at the same time! FRIENDS: ENERGY STAR light, ENERGY STAR bright, Energy efficiency is always right. I wish I may, I wish I might, Save energy and money with the STAR tonight! 2007 THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 43

44 Pledge to Make a Difference, One Light at a Time Be part of your child's commitment to save energy and our environment. Our classroom, partnering with the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project, is volunteering to help preserve our country's energy resources and help reduce the risks of global climate change by encouraging students and their families to change at least one light at home to one that has earned the government's ENERGY STAR for energy efficiency. Our classroom is doing this as part of the National ENERGY STAR Change a Light, Change the World Campaign, a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and organizations across the country to encourage individuals to actively help save energy at home, starting by switching to energy-efficient lighting. Because lighting accounts for nearly 20 percent of the average home's electric bill, changing to more efficient options not only makes a dent in the amount of fossil fuels our local power plant must burn to generate electricity, but also helps reduce our electric bills at home. Over the life of a single ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), you can save an average of $30 or more in electricity costs while preventing more than 400 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. And, every CFL uses at least 75 percent less energy than a standard incandescent and can last as much as 10 times longer. October 3, 2007 will mark the third annual ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day. Please join our classroom in taking the Pledge. It's a simple commitment that will go a long way to assure that the energy resources we rely on and the environment we live in are preserved for generations to come. Go to and click on Take the ENERGY STAR Change a Light Pledge to demonstrate that families from our school are a significant part of this vital national movement. Please sign and return this form to your teacher: ENERGY STAR Change a Light Pledge My family and I have done our part to improve energy efficiency in our home and help our environment by signing the ENERGY STAR Change a Light Pledge at and by changing at least one light in our home to an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb. STUDENT S SIGNATURE PARENT/GUARDIAN S SIGNATURE 2007 THE NEED PROJECT P.O. BOX MANASSAS, VA Change a Light Page 44

45 I pledge to do my part to save energy and help reduce risks of global climate change by replacing at least one light in my home with an ENERGY STAR qualified one. (*) indicates a required field First Name* Zip* * How many bulbs do you plan to replace with an ENERGY STAR? (up to 10) I d like to receive quarterly s from ENERGY STAR with energy-saving tips. PRIVACY DISCLAIMER: Your identifying information will be used only for the purposes of the ENERGY STAR Change a Light Pledge. This information will never be provided or sold to third parties. If you are under 13 years old, ask a parent or guardian to complete the pledge for you. CHANGING A LIGHT IS A SIMPLE STEP WE CAN EACH TAKE TO PRESERVE ENERGY RESOURCES, SAVE MONEY AND HELP PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT. Products that earn the ENERGY STAR prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. I pledge to do my part to save energy and help reduce risks of global climate change by replacing at least one light in my home with an ENERGY STAR qualified one. (*) indicates a required field First Name* Zip* * How many bulbs do you plan to replace with an ENERGY STAR? (up to 10) I d like to receive quarterly s from ENERGY STAR with energy-saving tips. PRIVACY DISCLAIMER: Your identifying information will be used only for the purposes of the ENERGY STAR Change a Light Pledge. This information will never be provided or sold to third parties. If you are under 13 years old, ask a parent or guardian to complete the pledge for you. CHANGING A LIGHT IS A SIMPLE STEP WE CAN EACH TAKE TO PRESERVE ENERGY RESOURCES, SAVE MONEY AND HELP PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT. Products that earn the ENERGY STAR prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.