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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,[email protected]).
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.