Life Skills Arcade Middle school Family and Consumer Sciences, grades 6 to 8

Handout 4.4

Handout 4.4: Home Energy Audit Checklist and Sample Bill

Unit
Unit 4: Spaces We Live In
Handout
4.4

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Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________ Team: ______ Zone: ______

Directions: Day 1: fill in Part 1 during the slides, do Part 2 with a partner and a calculator. Day 2: use the checklist in Part 3 on your zone of the classroom and again on the apartment in Part 4, rank the fixes, then read the bill in Part 5.

Word bank in other languages

EnglishTurkishPortugueseSpanish
energyenerjienergiaenergía
watersuáguaagua
save (conserve)tasarruf etmekeconomizar (conservar)ahorrar (conservar)
costmaliyetcustocosto
billfaturacontafactura (recibo)
light bulbampullâmpadabombilla (foco)
thermostattermostattermostatotermostato
leaksızıntıvazamentofuga (gotera)

Part 1: Where it goes

Energy in a typical home (fill in the share as I show it)

UseAbout what share
Heating and cooling
Heating water
Everything else (lights, fridge, laundry, electronics, cooking)

Water in a typical home

UseAbout what share
Toilets
Showers
Faucets
Laundry
Leaks

Phantom load means: ______________________________________________________

Conservation means: ______________________________________________________

Efficiency means: _________________________________________________________

Part 2: The math

Use the template every time. Watt-hours are pennies. Kilowatt-hours are dollars.

The template

StepWrite it
watts x hours a day x days a year = watt-hours (Wh)___ x ___ x ___ = ______ Wh
divide by 1,000 = kilowatt-hours (kWh)______ Wh / 1,000 = ______ kWh
kWh x price per kWh = dollars______ x $0.25 = $______

Worked with me: a 60 W bulb, 5 hours a day, 365 days, at $0.25 per kWh.

60 x 5 x 365 = ______ Wh. Divide by 1,000 = ______ kWh. Times $0.25 = $______ a year.

The LED: 9 W. 9 x 5 x 365 = ______ Wh = ______ kWh = $______ a year. Savings for one bulb: $______

Practice 1. A TV is left on 6 hours a day. It uses 100 W. Price $0.25 per kWh. Cost for a year?

______ x ______ x 365 = ______ Wh = ______ kWh = $______

Practice 2. A game console in standby draws 15 W all day, 24 hours, 365 days. Cost for a year at $0.25?

______ x ______ x 365 = ______ Wh = ______ kWh = $______

Practice 3. A faucet drips once a second. That is about 5 gallons a day. Gallons in a year? A bathtub holds about 60 gallons. How many bathtubs?

5 x 365 = ______ gallons. ______ / 60 = about ______ bathtubs.

Thermostat. Each degree you set back for 8 hours saves about 1 percent of the heating bill. A family heats for $1,800 a year and sets back 7 degrees at night. Savings: 7 percent of $1,800 = $______

Part 3: The audit checklist

Score every line: OK, Fix (free), or Fix ($). Use this on your classroom zone (Day 2, Step 1).

LineWhat to look forOKFix (free)Fix ($)What exactly
Lights 1Lights on where nobody is
Lights 2Bulbs are LED (check the label or the shape)
Phantom 1Chargers plugged in with nothing attached
Phantom 2Screens, consoles, printers on standby
Heat 1Thermostat setting (write it if you can read it)
Heat 2Windows or doors open while heat or AC runs
Heat 3Vents or radiators blocked by furniture
Heat 4Drafts at doors and windows (hold a hand near the edge)
Water 1Any faucet dripping
Water 2Toilet running (listen)
Appliance 1Fridge door seal holds a sheet of paper
Appliance 2Dishwasher or laundry run only when full

The planted waste in our zone was: ______________________________

Part 4: Audit the apartment

The Marchetti-Oyelaran apartment. Two adults and one child, age 8, in a rented two-bedroom apartment. The landlord pays for heat. The family pays for electricity and hot water.

Living room. The TV is on all day for the dog. A cable box and a game console are on standby under it. Three lamps have the old round bulbs that get hot. A window air conditioner is still in the window in January with a towel stuffed around it. The couch sits in front of the radiator.

Kitchen. The refrigerator door has a torn seal at the bottom; a sheet of paper slides out. The dishwasher is run every night, half full. The faucet drips about once a second. The microwave clock is on. The range hood light is on all day.

Bathroom. The shower runs about 15 minutes per person, three people a day. The showerhead is the original from when the building was built. The toilet runs for a minute after each flush, then stops.

Bedrooms. Two phone chargers and a laptop charger stay plugged in with nothing attached. A space heater runs in the child's room all night with the window cracked open "for fresh air." A lamp with an old bulb is on in the empty adult bedroom while everyone is in the living room.

Score the apartment on the same twelve lines:

LineOKFix (free)Fix ($)What exactly
Lights 1
Lights 2
Phantom 1
Phantom 2
Heat 1
Heat 2
Heat 3
Heat 4
Water 1
Water 2
Appliance 1
Appliance 2

Rank the fixes

Twelve fixes with a cost and an estimated saving per year. Cross out the two that cost more than $50. Rank the other ten by savings, highest first. For the three that cost money, compute payback: cost divided by savings = years.

FixCostSaves per year (estimate)RankPayback (years)
Turn off lights in empty rooms$0$20
Unplug the chargers and put the TV, cable box, and console on a power strip you switch off$20 (strip)$50
Swap the ten old bulbs for LEDs$30$230
Set the thermostat back 7 degrees at night (in a home that pays for heat)$0$125
Cut showers from 15 minutes to 8 (three people)$0$150
Fix the dripping faucet (a new washer)$2$15
Low-flow showerhead$15$70
Wash laundry in cold water$0$60
Weatherstrip the drafty window and door$25$80
Run the dishwasher only when full$0$30
Programmable thermostat$80$150
New refrigerator with a good seal$900$90

Why the top three are the top three:

  1. _______________________________________________________________
  2. _______________________________________________________________
  3. _______________________________________________________________

Which fixes should the landlord pay for, and which the family? Why? _____________________________________

Part 5: Read a sample electric bill

Sample electric bill, one month (made up for class)

LineAmount
Electricity used this month650 kWh
Supply charge: 650 kWh x $0.12$78.00
Delivery charge: 650 kWh x $0.13$84.50
Basic service charge (fixed, every month)$18.00
Total due$180.50
  1. Circle the kWh used. Circle the total.
  2. Supply plus delivery is the price per kWh: $0.12 + $0.13 = $______ per kWh.
  3. Which charge stays the same even if you use zero electricity? ______________
  4. If this family swaps ten old bulbs for LEDs and saves about $230 a year, about how much lower is next month's bill? $230 / 12 = about $______
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