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Stage3–GGCProjectReadYourMeter,ReportYourSavings–2ptsOVERVIEW:Didyouknowthatyourstudentscaneasilyreadyourschool’selectricalmeter?Withafewsimplestepsstudentscandeterminehowmuchenergyyourschoolisusingperday.StudentscanthencomparehowmuchenergyyourschooliscurrentlyusingtothebaselineenergyusageprovidedbytheDPSGoGreenChallenge.Themeterreadingactivityallowsyourschooltogetrealtimefeedbackonhowyourschoolsisdoingwithouthavingwaitfortheofficialanalysisoftheenergybills.

PROCEDURE:

1) TalktoyourFacilityManager–Whilereadingthemeteriseasy,youwillneedyourfacilitymanager’sassistancetofindandaccessthemeter.Checkthenumberofmetersyouhaveandverifythiswithyourfacilitymanager.Ifyouhavemorethanonemeter,youwillneedtoreadandsumallmeterstogetanaccuratecomparisontoyourbaseline.Pleasecontactusifyouhavequestionsaboutthis.

2) Prepare–Talktoyourstudentsabouttheimportanceofsavingenergy--yourAmeriCorpsGreenSchoolCoordinatorscanhelpguidethesediscussions.Reviewtheinstructionsandworksheettoensureyourstudentsrecordanaccuratereading.

3) TaketheMeterReadingsandCalculateAverageDailyUse-Ameterreadingpictureguideandstep-by-stepcalculationworksheetareincludedinthisproject.Wesuggestyoursustainabilitypatrolteamtakemeterreadingsduringtheirpatrols.

a. Takea1stmeterreadingb. Takea2ndmeterreading3to14dayslater,wheneveritisconvenient.A

longerintervalwilllikelyyieldamoreaccurateaveragedailyusage.c. Calculateyouraveragedailyusebytakingthedifferencebetweenthetwo

readingsanddividingbythenumberofdaysbetweenreadings.

4) Compareyourdailyusewiththebaseline–YouwillcalculateyouraveragedailyusetwiceduringtheEnergyChallenge.YoumaywanttodothisnearthebeginningandendoftheenergychallengeorduringaweekofheavyschoolusecomparedtoaweekofbreaktogaugetheeffectivenessofyourPowerDownfortheHolidays!

EarnaGGCPoint–Toearn2GGCpointsforthisprojectsimplycompletetwocalculationsofyourschool’sdailyenergyuseanytimeduringtheEnergyandWaterChallenge,Dec.1st–March31st.SubmittwoDailyUseCalculationWorksheetsbyApril8thtodps.gogreen@detroitk12.orgortoyourAmeriCorpsCoordinator.

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HOWTOREADYOURMETER:

Readingyourmeterissimpleandfun!Followtheseeasysteps:

A)Yourschool’smeterwillflashbetweenthreescreens.Thecorrectmeasurementtoreadistheenergyusein“kWh”.Whentheunitsdisplayedinthebottomrightofthemeterscreen(LetterAinthebelowpicture)says“kWh”,youarereadytotakethereading.

B)Takethereading.Inthispicturebelowthereadingis“114”,locatednexttotheletterB.

C)Multiplythereadingbythemultiplier.Inthispicturethemultiplieris400.Mulitply114by400toget45,600kWh.Thatisyourmeterreading!(Ifyoudonothaveayellowstickerwiththemulitpier,contactDPSGoGreenatdps.gogreen@detroitk12.comforthenumber).

Rememberyouwillneedtoreadthemetertwotimes,atthesametimeondifferentdays,tocalcuateyourdailyenergyuse.

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DAILYUSECACLUATIONWOKRSHEET:

Step 1 – Find and copy your school’s “baseline”, provide by DPS Go Green

__________________________________ Our school’s baseline (Average daily use)

Step 2 – Take a meter reading at a specific time during the day

__________ X ___________ = __________________ Kw h Multiplier 1st meter reading

Step 3 – Take a 2nd meter reading at the same specific time a number of days later

__________ X ___________ = __________________ Kw h Multiplier 2nd meter reading

Step 4 – Subtract your 1st meter reading from your 2nd meter reading

_________________ - ________________ = __________________ 2nd meter reading 1st meter reading Energy used

Step 5 – Divide the energy used by the number of days between readings

_____________ ÷ ____________________ = ___________________ Energy used Days between reading Average Daily Use

Step 6 – Compare your actual average daily use that you calculated in step 5 to your school’s baseline from step 1! If you have more than one meter, repeat steps 1-5 and add the daily uses together to compare to the baseline.

___________________ - __________________________ = ______________

Baseline daily use (step 1) Meter reading daily use (step 5) Daily energy savings

Step 7 – See how much you are saving. Average cost for electricity at DPS is $0.106/KWH.

(KWH) X $0.106 = ___________________ Energy Saved per day Electricity Cost Daily savings ($)

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Discussion Questions

Is our daily use above or below the baseline?

______________________________________________________________

Does that mean we are using more or less energy than the baseline?

______________________________________________________________

How much more or less (as a percentage)?

______________________________________________________________

If we measured during a school break, how does that affect the daily use? Did we power down before that break?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

If we measure before and then after our energy saving campaign, can we see the effect of our efforts?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

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METERREADINGFAQS:

Q:WhattimeofdayshouldIreadthemeter?

A:Anytimeofdayisok,justbesuretoreadthemeteratthesametimewhenyoutakeyoursecondmeterreading.

Q:HowmanydaysshouldIwaitbetweenmeterreadings?

A:Werecommendbetween3and14days.Whileanynumberofdayswillgiveacorrectaveragedailyuse,dailyfluctuationswillbesmoothedoutbytakingthereadingsatleastthreedaysapart.

Q:Whereisthemeter?Isitsafetobethere?

A:Metersaretypicallyoutside.Yesitissafetobenearthem.Pleasemakesureyourfacilitymanagerispresentandonboardwiththeproject.Aftertakingameterreading,wesuggesttakingaboilerroomtourwithyourFacilityManager.Toursinthepastyearshavereceivedhugelypositiveresponsesfromstudentsandareagoodopportunityforfacilitymanagerstointroducestudentstocareersinengineeringorbuildingmanagement.

Q:Canstudentsdothisathome?

A:Yes!Itisthesameprocess,exceptthereisnomultiplierathomemeters.Studentscanusethesameprocesstodetermineelectricityuseathome.Infact,DTEtakestworeadingsofyourhomemeteronemonthaparttodeterminethemonthlyelectricitybill.

Q:A‘kWh”…whatisthat?

A:A“kWh”isaunitofenergy.ItstandsforKilowattHour.Thatis1,000Watts(power)deliveredover1hour(time).Itisequivalenttohavinga100-wattlightbulbonfor10hours.

Q:Whatdoesthatmeanindollarsandcents?Fortheenvironment?

A:Thedistrict,andyourhome,payabout$0.106perkWh(so1,000kWhwouldbe$106).InDetroit,1kWhofelectricityproducesabout1.9lbsofCO2andusesabout.68lbsofcoal.(Theprice,andamountofCO2emittedandcoalusedvaryfromregiontoregionbasedonfactorslikethesourcesofenergyusedtomaketheelectricity.)

Q:Accordingtoourmeterreadingsouraveragedailyuseiswaylowerthanourbaseline!Thatmeans

IwintheEnergyChallenge,right?!

A:TheMeterReadingprojectearnsGGCpoints,allowsrealtimefeedback,andprovidesopportunitiesforyourstudentstoexploreenergyuse(forexample,comparingthedailyuseoftheschoolwhenschoolisinsessionversusoverabreak).However,themonetaryprizesoftheEnergyChallengewillbedeterminedbycomparingtheenergybillsofyourschooloverthefullcontestperiodtothebaselineenergyusage.Thetopthreeschoolsineachdivisionwillearnprizes.

**Note:Ifyouhavemultiplemeters,makesureyourtotalisthesumofthereadingsofallmeters.