Is one of the best ways of helping to combat climate change! I know that it isn't the most glamorous thing in the world.

Lets face it, getting your school to install a solar panel is loads more funky than getting them to insulate all your hot water pipes.

Refusing to take plastic bags is a tad more exciting than ensuring the PCs are switched off! But. If you want your assorted adults to start doing stuff to improve things for the environment, then energy efficiency is a dead good way in.

Why? Because in the long run, it saves them money... And an un-insulated house is like an outdoor radiator! Double-glazing - classic example, a lot of people have double-glazing in their windows at home. Why? Because it cuts down the heating bills.

Schools - massive windows, no double-glazing! - There you go - a way to save money and energy! Even drawing the curtains in the evening saves bags of heat from fleeing off outside...

Did you know that Britain's energy use is rising all the time? And yet our world is running out of oil and coal and gas.... For the first time ever, Britain is having to import gas...

Using more RENEWABLE ENERGY is a very helpful thing to do - and another very helpful thing is SAVING ENERGY!

Did you know that insulation would prevent 45% of the heat loss in a house? That is an enormous amount of energy!

What else can you do.....?

You know, the funny looking light bulbs that look like doubled over florescent tubes. They are economic on energy use, and they last for ages! Seven years or so to be precise... and they'll save you about £10 a year in energy bills! How much money would your school save a year if they changed all their light bulbs to energy saving ones?   What about your home?

And then there are all the little petty things that add up to make

	Switch off the TV/ DVD/ video/ computer/ cassette player, instead of putting it on standby
	Close the curtains at night,
	Close the fridge door all the time - whip your food out at once and get the door shut, so as to save as much cold as possible.
	Always have a full load in the washing machine. (Unless your machine has a half load option)
	Stick a cover on the cooking pots when you cook.
	Close the doors.. switch off those lights..
	When you have to buy a new appliance - buy an energy saving one!
	Draught proof your doors and windows
	Fit thermostats on the radiators.

Every little energy-conserving thing that you do counts towards using less energy. Add them all up and it counts towards a lot! Here's a way of thinking about the amount of energy you consume in one day:   Imagine a typical day On a piece of paper draw three columns. In the middle column write down everything you do in the day. In the left column make a note of everything you do that uses up energy.   (Don't forget about energy to make hot water for your shower... energy to make cold air for the fridge etc) Then go back over it and in the right margin write down everything you could do to save or use less energy.

Could your school help you with any of your ways to save energy? Could you help the school?   If you want to do something really dramatic then why don't you think about having .. An energy saving campaign!           so that you can get other people to save energy with you.

     Remember, lots of voices are louder than one, lots of little savings add up to one BIG one!

There are loads of organisations that would love to help you with energy saving and some of your teachers might be interested too...

If you want more information about:

	Energy saving teaching resources
	Games to play
	Energy audits and lessons
	Possible funding sources for financing energy saving programmes
	Websites about energy saving in schools

Then come on further into our web site...