Research question; how can energy be saved at school?

S.M Shetty International, is a school

situated within the suburban area of
Powai, and is an education centre for
more than 1000 students. Events
taking place within the school
premises are eco- friendly and the
use of plastic is cut down to the
maximum. The six storied institute is a learning ground to students
of all ages along with an IB diploma programme for 11th and 12th.
With the huge grounds, libraries, halls and labs the campus is huge.

Our school has a policy for saving energy, which includes students
being appointed to check on the energy consumption, along with
teachers who keep regular tabs on the classes. We think that the
policy should include an aim to decrease the amount of consumption
every year, along with trying to filter the root factors of mass
wastage.

Students are appointed every week to be in charge of the energy

usage in their respective homerooms. In order to spread awareness,
the seniors often put up role play or skits during the assembly
lectures, along with campaigns for projects. Our school uses LED
lights to provide with bright light while the cost is less.
3 ways to actively save energy

1) Install equipment such as an electric monitor. It monitors and

displays the usage of energy, the cost and the carbon dioxide
emissions. Modern monitors can help track and set up warnings
of excess usage. Other hybrid devices such as master sockets
and energy saving cables and plugs can help. Now that we’ve
discussed hoe tech can help, it’s up to us.
2) Timing yourselves is a great way to psychologically force
yourself to reduce your usage of electricity. Some
governments have specific standards for the temperatures in
school. Closing the doors while heating or cooling can reduce
unnecessary wastage. Unplugging devices after use will help
too.

3) Do this simple math. For example; if you spend 60 cents a day

for a month it adds up to 1800 cents= $18. 60 cents a day=2.5
cents an hour. Out of that if you switched of the not required
appliances for about 2 hrs you save 5 cents. It’s a small sum,
but for a large institution that a school is, it sure makes a
difference over a large period of time.
Our Interview
we interviewed one of the energy monitors at school and his answers
were:

1. how does your school save energy at the moment?

In each and every class there is a student monitor responsible for
the electricity. We even have teachers take rounds of our school to
check if there is any electricity being wasted in class. If so the
class is warned.

2. Does your school have a policy for saving energy? Explain.

Yes, we do. It involves a regular check done by the teachers; we
even have senior students who bring about awareness about saving
energy through assembly skits.

3. During what time do you find that maximum energy is being

wasted in our class?
Answer: Maximum wastage is during the dispersal time since, in
haste; students forget to switch off the lights, fans, etc.

4. During lectures, what can we do to prevent so much of

electricity wastage?
Answer: Well, we could start with opening the windows instead of
using the fans and A/C’s, for the first two lectures. Then we could
switch on lights and fans if required.

5. in your opinion which is the electrical appliance which uses the

most electricity?
Answer: It is the educomp (class projector) that takes up the most
electricity. Even when it is powered off it still draws energy to
power the clock and remember all the settings you program into
them.

6. Can you suggest how to save energy during summer term?

Answer: Instead of switching on both the A/C’s, one would do, and
the optimum temperature setting should be 24 degrees Celsius
because if it is lower than that then it is not good for the
environment and if it is above that then we tend to feel hot.
A few students were asked what they think were the most effective
ways to save energy at school. Here are few of the responses.

1) When not needed, switch off all the electrical items – Devanshi
2) Use solar energy- Dixy
3) Not use A/c’s much, as it consumes more energy- Advik
4) Making sure that the fans are on level 5, due to less resistance
offered, lees energy is used- Kush
5) The usage of computer systems are done properly- Hrishikesh
6) Carpooling while travelling- Vedant
7) Use sensors to automatically turn off the power when the
homeroom is not in use-Likhit
8) Invest in energy power strips- Samiksha
9) Make use of natural sunlight- Pratham