In the News

We made the Prior Lake paper...
Thanks, Meryn!

http://www.plamerican.com/news/general-news/school-district-reports-energy-savings-so-far-year-109

Lose Your Excuse

In a February 2008 national survey of kids ages 8 - 15, a whopping 85% of the respondents believed they could lead their family to do what is needed to consume less energy in the home.
As a result of these findings, the U.S. Department of Energy, in partnership with the Ad Council, developed a great website and the "What's Your Excuse" campaign to help create a new generation of energy-conscious consumers.
Check it out:
http://www.loseyourexcuse.gov

2nd Quarter Results

2nd quarter results are in! For the months of April, May and June our district reported an 8.2% reduction in overall energy consumption resulting in a savings of almost $30,000. For the first six months of the SEE program we have now saved a total of $62,443!

That is good news and I just have to give a shout out to all the students and staff who are making small changes but are making a big difference. Thanks everyone and good job!





Kilowatt Quiz

A kilowatt-hour is the energy needed to light a 100-watt light bulb for 10 hours. How many kilowatt-hours do you think most U.S. homes use every month?

 

      A) 93  B) 938  C) 9,380  or  D) 93,800?

      Scroll down for the answer...

If you guessed B you are correct.

The average home in our country uses 938 kilowatts.

Just for kids

Today's post is for the students in Prior Lake and Savage. Just a couple of energy thoughts specifically for kids...

Energy isn’t free. Your parents and other taxpayers in your community pay for the all the energy your school uses. So wasting energy is the same as wasting money – not a smart idea.

Energy is more than numbers on a utility bill, it is the foundation of everything we do. All of us use energy every day – for transportation, cooking, heating and cooling, manufacturing, lighting and entertainment. We rely on energy to make our lives comfortable, productive and enjoyable. To maintain our quality of life, we must use our energy resources wisely.

Keeping up with the Energy Hog

The Energy Hog gave lots of hugs and high-fives last night as he wandered around the annual Community Fest. As his handler, I was given the opportunity to talk with many Prior Lake/Savage residents about how we don't want to be energy hogs at school or at home. Many kids said they do turn off lights and electronics when not in use but some of the parents begged to differ with their children.

The Energy Hog is a fun reminder that we don't want to be wasteful but we want to be wise with our energy use which translates into energy savings. Energy savings in turn translate into dollars previously being spent on energy being able to stay in our district. So please DON'T be an Energy Hog and do your part to help make a difference, every little effort does truly help, thanks everyone!

Fall Community Fest Tonight

I will be at the Fall Community Fest tonight with the Energy Hog by my side. The event is at PLHS from 6:00-8:30. Freebies to hand out include an activity booklet for kids from Energy Star and the EPA featuring Dr. Seuss' Lorax, SEE light switch stickers and Energy Hog bookmarks.
Hope to see you there!

Hanging with the Hog

The Energy Hog was hanging around the DSC last week trying to turn on as many lights as possible. He was trying to show the staff how to be wasteful but our energy savvy employees know better and are doing a great job saving energy in our district!

tapping into what is already there...

Research in behavioral psychology shows that most people are intrinsically motivated to save energy and that this motivation can be nurtured and developed. So as the EEC, I am just tapping into what most of the staff and students already know and do to save energy. I am just building on that foundation and helping our district be as energy efficient as possible!

the HOG is in the House!

The Energy Hog has arrived in the district and is available for our use this week and well into next week. Please let me know if you would like him to visit your building or classroom. There is a short skit and it can be presented in about 20 minutes. He is age appropriate for about 2nd grade and older. He is really an anti-mascot and the handler/facilitator (me) uses him as an educational tool to talk about ways to NOT be an energy hog :)

Out and About

I have been out in the buildings this week putting up the new SEE posters and am thrilled to see so many staff utilizing natural daylight or with the overhead lights in their classroom dimmed.  These are just simple ways to save energy which directly result in keeping dollars previously spent on energy right in our classrooms. In the first three months with SEE we saved over $32,000 and the next quarter looks even better with greater savings achieved. The 2nd quarter results will be posted soon.

Keep up the good work, everyone!