Saving energy at home
Look at twelve everyday habits, from switching off lights and cooking with a lid to leaving the TV on standby. Find out why each one saves or wastes energy, and sort them.
Core concept
Electricity and fuel cost money and resources, and making them often pollutes the air; small habits, such as switching off, using LED bulbs and covering pots, save energy, while leaving things on or open wastes it
Topic: Energy and technology
Every light, fan, fridge and stove at home uses energy: What is needed to make things move, heat up, light up or grow. All key words: electricity or fuel such as cooking gas, kerosene or wood. Energy costs money, and producing it uses up resources and often pollutes the air. We can do the same work with less energy by changing small habits. A switched-off light uses nothing. An LED bulb gives the same light as an old bulb for about a fifth of the electricity. A lid on the pot keeps the heat in, and a pressure cooker cooks dal in a third of the time. Other habits waste energy without giving us anything back, like a TV left on standby all night or a fridge door held open.
What you will learn
- Name habits that save energy and habits that waste it.
- Explain how each habit saves or wastes energy.
- Suggest changes to save energy at home.
Before you start
- Know that appliances use electricity or fuel.
Materials
- Your home's electricity bill (optional)
Equipment
- None
Procedure
- Pick a habit and read why it saves or wastes energy.
- Do this for at least eight habits.
- Sort every habit into “Saves energy” or “Wastes energy”.