Winter Break is almost here!

Warm Seasons Greetings
from the Energy Efficiency Coordinator!

Just a friendly reminder whether you are leaving your classroom for break or traveling away from home over the Holidays, be sure to shut down everything before you leave including monitors, speakers, printers, copiers, projectors, etc. Any electronics drawing vampire energy should be turned off or unplugged. Every effort no matter how small truly does make a difference. Thank you for doing your part, everyone!

Wishing you a Groovy Holiday Season &

much Energy Efficiency in the New Year!

Look Up

The attic is one of the places where you will often find the biggest air leaks which in turn can increase your energy bills and make it uncomfortably hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter.

It is also an area that is usually accessible making it easier to seal and insulate.

So to improve the comfort level of your home during the heating and cooling months and to be much more energy efficient, look up!

Fancy Nancy and Curious George

Fancy Nancy Every Day is Earth Day is a fun book about being eco-conscious in a variety of areas. I would love to visit your kindergarten, first or second grade classroom to read this book to your students and then follow with a short discussion about energy efficiency at their level.

Another option is Curious George Plants a Tree. Please consider having the district's EEC as a guest reader in your classroom. To schedule a visit either email or call ext.0051.

Did you know?

Did you know that leaving your computer on draws an average of 50-300 watts, about as much as a common refrigerator? To save energy, a general rule of thumb for shutting down as opposed to leaving your computer up and running is about 20 - 30 minutes. If you are going to be away from your computer for longer than a half hour, then consider shutting down and restarting upon your return.

The Forgotten Door

The title of today's post sounds a little like a mystery novel. There is a door that often gets overlooked when weather-proofing because the doors leading directly outside are what first come to mind when checking for gaps and air leaks.

The forgotten door is the one between the house and the garage.  This is especially important when the garage is not insulated. Besides replacing the weather stripping around the door frame, installing a door sweep helps seal the gap between the bottom of the door and the threshold to prevent cold air from entering and warm air from escaping, or vice versa in the summer months.

So there is no mystery here, just remember when checking for unwanted airflow between your house and outside, don't forget the door to the garage.

Video Game Vampires

No, this is not about the release of Wii Vampire Wars or any other such video game...

In a recent news article about energy and electronics, it stated some gaming consoles can use almost as much energy as a TV does to run so the consoles should not be left turned on when not being used. Meaning if the TV is off but the game console is still running or the unit is left sitting on the menu page for hours when not being used, energy is still being drawn to the game console.

So consider activating a sleep mode before you walk away and leave the unit on or have it go into auto-shutdown after a set amount of time.

Igniting Creative Energy

Igniting Creative Energy (ICE) is a national student challenge to motivate learning, ignite the imagination, and fuel the creative potential in youth.

The ICE Challenge is an incentive based educational opportunity for K - 12 students throughout the U.S. and much of Canada. Students are asked to use their creative energy to develop entries in the categories of Visual Arts and Music, Science and Technology, and Language Arts. Entries are to relate to the theme "Igniting Creative Energy" and demonstrate character building as it applies to wise energy choices and environmental stewardship. The entries are also to demonstrate an understanding of what an individual, family or group can do to make a difference in their home or community.

So why participate? Besides the fact that is a creative and fun educational opportunity, the GRAND PRIZE is a trip for two to Washington D.C. Three students and one teacher will win a trip for two to our nation's capital.

But wait, there's more...
For more information and all the details for students and teachers including important guidelines and deadlines, click here: ICE Challenge

Check it out!