Energy Education – Teaching Your Kids to Save

It’s no secret that our schools and teachers are beginning to work the importance of energy saving and conservation into their programs and curriculum. This is a great first step, but things don’t have to end in the classroom. Getting your kids excited about saving energy at home can have big impacts both on your energy bills and the environment.

Around the House

Getting your children more involved means making them feel like they are real contributors and that they have an impact – because they do! To get your kids more engaged, make a list of things they can do around the house (or not do…) that will start saving immediately on energy.

Here are a few examples:

• Shorter Showers: Cutting down time in the shower can save big bucks at the end of each month. Not only that, it helps preserve the environment by controlling water usage. Think about ways to get your kids excited, like making it a competition to see who can save the most water. Consider purchasing an energy saving showerhead at a discounted price from our online store to make an even bigger impact.
• Shut the Door: Make sure that you are maximizing the energy usage in your home by reminding your kids to keep the doors and windows shut while the heat or AC is on. While fresh air can be a great way to cool down in the early spring, once your HVAC system kicks on it’s time to make sure everyone is pitching in by not leaving doors and windows open.
• Turn the Lights Off: When your children aren’t using a room, remind them to turn the lights off. Even with new CFLs and LEDs, leaving lights on that aren’t needed is a waste of electricity. And if you’re still using incandescent bulbs, replace them with energy efficient bulbs.
• Close the Fridge: Leaving the refrigerator door open won’t just spoil your food, it will spoil your budget, too. A refrigerator requires an enormous amount of energy to cool down. Once it’s at the right temperature, it requires relatively little maintenance energy, but leaving it open can set you back to square one. Make sure that EVERYONE in the house is remembering to shut the refrigerator door once they’re finished.
• Unplug your Devices: Once your phone or electronic device has finished charging, make sure you unplug the charger to eliminate it from using standby electricity.

In the World

The world is so massive that sometimes it feels impossible to make any change in it, especially for kids. However, this couldn’t be less true. Today’s generation of kids needs to feel more empowered than ever to make sure that the environment and resources available to us are cared for. To get your kids thinking about their larger role in energy consumption, talk to them about the realities that overuse of energy has… not just on your monthly bill, but on the environment as a whole.

Having your children thinking about these problems on a global scale will only make the lessons from school more applicable at home. Start by asking them simple questions like: Where does energy come from? What types of energy are there? What do you think you can do to start saving energy? There are many great resources available online to get you started with these conversations, including some fun activities.

For more ideas on how to save energy and money, check out the Mass Saver blog today!