In the final day of the 21 day Sprint to Savings, Powell Elementary School sits in second place, having reduced their electricity consumption by over 15 percent. Like Langley, Powell has benefited from having a strong mentoring team that engaged the school early and continued to work with students and teachers throughout the competition. Powell also benefited from working with the District Department of Environment, who visited the school to provide an Energy Patrol Assembly. The mentor team provided us a log of their engagement, which we’ve shared below.
2/4/14
A staff member of DDOE's Energy Patrol unit presents to a packed auditorium of students. On the left, mentors Mia Dancy and Sierra Dennis ponder Energy Jeopardy questions.
Ready to Kick-Off the DC Green Schools Challenge and eager to get students excited saving energy, the Bluefin Mentor Team scheduled an assembly at Powell Elementary. Hosted by DDOE, the assembly educated the students on different types of energy and energy conservation practices. The crowd was an energetic bunch of first- to fifth-graders. During Energy Jeopardy hand were flying up around the room as third graders explain that “reusing energy” meant it was “renewable” and that we should use compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), because they are more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs.
2/19/14
Members of the Bluefin mentor team went to Powell to give a brief presentation on Energy. Sierra Dennis, a Howard University student and civil engineering intern with Bluefin, presented an interactive Prezi, to Ms. Dillard’s first grade class, about the ways in which we use and waste energy everyday. The first graders were enthusiastic during the presentation, expressing how they save energy in their home by turning off lights when they leave their rooms and turning off the water when they were brushing teeth. The class discussion led to suggestions on how to save energy in their school, Powell Elementary. The exhilarated, young audience suggested several options for saving energy within the school.
Mentor and Howard University student, Sierra Dennis, teaches students about energy.
Daylighting - open the blinds and only use the nature light (sunlight)
Unplugging Smartboards – when the smartboards are not in use/at the end of the school day they should be unplugged
Keeping Window & Doors Closed – to ensure the warm/cold does not escape outside or into the hall, forcing the HVAC system to work harder (using more energy)
To ensure that these energy saving methods were practiced in school and also at home, Sierra had the students decorate their own light switch templates to remind their family and friends to turn of the lights (to save energy!) when they leave the bathroom, bedroom, living room, etc. The kids loved this fun and crafty energy activity!
A Powell student shows off her light switch plate.
2/21/14
Sierra met with the Student Council to learn about the students Energy Conservation practices. The students on the Council have been selected to be the Energy Patrol during the DC Green Schools Challenge. They talked about all the ways in which they have been saving energy in theirs school.
Turning off the lights when we leave the classroom.
Turning off the bathroom lights at the end of the school day.
Closing the doors when they leave classrooms unoccupied.
Unplugging appliances in the classrooms when they are not in use, including smartboard.
These great initiatives in the classrooms by all the students have made a great impact in the Powell Elementary energy savings.
Facility staff at Powell remove unnecessary lighting from hallways. Over lighting is a common source of energy waste.
Sierra, also, spoke to the Council about “de-lamping”. “De-lamping” refers to reducing the number of lights, or lamps, present in a particular area. The students, eager to save energy, were thrilled to know “de-lamping” would occur in the hallways of their school. That evening members of the Bluefin team removed 40 32-watt bulbs in 2 hallways of the school facility. The reduction in the number of lights had no impact on the luminosity of the hallway, but saves a large amount of energy!