- Category:
Energy Efficiency - Published:
May 8, 2020 - Updated:
March 28, 2022
Lesson Plan: Understanding Your Energy Bill
This week’s lesson will help families to understand and dissect their electricity bills and understand how smart meters, utility apps and utility website data can help inform household energy decisions. As this lesson focuses most on electricity, the text will revisit and review electricity text previously covered, but this time with a new angle and focus. Students will be able to analyze their electricity use from various types of data available and will become experts at helping to pay the bills and lower costs!
Looking for more home energy activities? We’re pleased to work with The National Energy Education Development Project (NEED), to deliver these fun activities. Be sure to check out their library of resources, and their specialized collection of energy-themed distance/at-home learning activities. All activities are totally free for use at home or school, and accessible by visiting their website, www.NEED.org.
- Background reading: Primary Infobook Electricity
*Primary reading is structured with the student reader page first, and the teacher/adult page second. Younger or less advanced readers can read along with the student pages, and the teacher pages may be read aloud to them. Advanced readers may be able to read most on their own.
- Background reading: Elementary Energy Infobook Electricity
- Printable Activity: Life Without Electricity
- Background reading: Intermediate Energy Infobook Electricity
- Printable Activity: Analyzing the Cost of Electricity
- Background reading: Secondary Energy Infobook Electricity
- Printable Activity: Understanding the Baseline and Tier Systems
This activity doesn’t involve manipulating lab supplies, but does encourage families to get hands-on with their bills! Families will first take a look at a School Energy Experts Sample Electricity Bill. Once you’ve looked at the sample, print or pull up a copy or two of your own utility bill to look for the major components. What items are you unsure of? Check out your utility’s website for more tutorials on how to read your bill. Once you’ve got a good grasp of your bill and the data available to you as a family, you’ll use Home Energy Use Survey to gather your own data to compare and create a picture that showcases the devices and activities that add up to your total bill each month. This activity set is great for “generating” discussion on activities happening during stay-at-home time, pluggable devices, and family budgeting!
Additional support links:
- https://switchon.org/ (Free signup for all video clips)
- https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/
- https://www.eia.gov/kids/
Spring Lesson Plans:
- Lesson Plan 1: Energy Basics and Energy Sources
- Lesson Plan 2: Electricity and Electricity Generation
- Lesson Plan 3: Conservation at Home
- Lesson Plan 4: Wind and Natural Gas
- Lesson Plan 5: Solar Energy
- Lesson Plan 7: Measuring Your Electricity Consumption
- Lesson Plan 8: Lighting and Appliances
Fall Lesson Plans:
- Lesson Plan 1: Biomass
- Lesson Plan 2: Hydropower
- Lesson Plan 3: Water Conservation
- Lesson Plan 4: Climate Change and Energy Conservation
- Lesson Plan 5: Heating and Cooling
