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Activity Sheet

 

 

Key words and definitions for you to know Awareness- the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns.

Blackout - The total loss of electric power supplied by the electric company. Climate Change: A change in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere that cause a change in climate patterns such as rain cycles. Global warming-increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s surface. Pollution- the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Wastage- loss, decrease, or destruction of something (as by use, decay, erosion, or leakage); especially : wasteful or avoidable loss of something valuable. Like to surf? Learn more about this topic at……. The City of Cape Town’s electricity Savings Campaign http://www.savingelectricity.org.za eThekwini Municipality’s Electricity Savings Campaign http://www.durban.gov.za/durban/government/energy/saving The 49M Initiative http://www.49million.co.za/about-49-million.aspx Eskom school yard http://www.eskom.co.za/c/article/293/school-yard/

Activity Sheet 3 Electricity Saving Awareness

 

   

 

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Activity Sheet

ACTIVITY 3A: ELECTRICITY SAVING ARTICLE/ADVERT/ POSTER/ PLACARD . Activity Instructions:

1. Listen to the ‘Electricity Facts’ introduction from your educator.

2. Find examples of electricity saving awareness posters, advertisements and articles in local and national newspapers and

magazines at home and bring them in to class. Exercise: Choose 1 of the activities given here:

Develop and awareness raising and educational advertisement that lets the public know about electricity use in their homes and communities. The advert should be the size of 1 full page (A4) and should be informative and attractive to people who might see it. OR Write a 3 paragraph article (with an introduction, body, and conclusion) about electricity saving in your school or community for placement in the school newspaper. Use the knowledge that you have already gained so far. Also research some new facts about this topic. OR Design an informative poster or placard around energy saving for placement in your school or home, the placard can be on one tip or a lot of tips.

Example of a newspaper advertisement

   

 

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Activity Sheet

Example of a poster

Why not use the following points as a guide to structuring your creative piece ( poster, advert, article)

Mark this column with an ‘X’ if you have included this suggestion

Ensure that you include information about saving and why it is important. X

Make sure that there is a clear heading to your work and make sure this is underlined.

Make sure that paragraphs have a topic sentence (a sentence that introduces the paragraph).

Make sure that you have good sentence construction.

Make sure that your spelling, grammar, and punctuation (commas, full stops, capital letters at the beginning of a sentence and for proper nouns etc.) are correct. Make sure that all your facts and information is correct.

Provide a short reference list showing the source from which you got your information.

Provide contact information in case your reader would like to receive further information on electricity saving.

   

 

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Activity Sheet

Group Work: In your groups look at each other’s work and say what you like about it. Are all the things to look out for under point 4 above included? Would you read the

advertisement or article, or look at the poster if you saw it in a newspaper or magazine or posted on the wall? How could it be improved? As a class discuss the following question:

• Do you think public education on electricity saving is important? Do you think there should be more television, newspaper and magazine programmes about electricity saving?

Take it Home: Why not put up a copy of you advertisement, poster or article in your home or community for other people to read so that they know more about electricity

saving and why it is important? Why not submit your article to the school and local newspapers, WESSA or the City’s Yes program. Contact details:

WESSA (Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa.) 31 The Sanctuary, off Pollsmoor Road. Kirstenhof, 7945 Tel +27 (021) 7011397 Fax +27 (021) 7011399 Email: admin@wessa.co.za

                   http://www.wessa.org.za/index.php/WC/Western-Cape.html

WESSA’s Envirokids publication                    http://www.wessa.org.za/index.php/Publications/Envirokids.html

Youth Environmental School (YES) Programme Ms Lindie Buirski Tel: +27 (0)21 487 2839 Fax: +27 (0)21 487 2255 E-mail: lindie.buirski@capetown.gov.za

http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/EnvironmentalResourceManagemen t/yes/Pages/default.aspx

 

   

 

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Activity Sheet

ACTIVITY 3B: SCHOOL ELECTRICITY ALERT

Activity Instructions:

1. Listen to the ‘Electricity Facts’ introduction from your educator. These are the tips promoted by the City of Cape Town,

http://www.savingelectricity.org.za  

No-cost changes

Easy-to-do changes that are the foundation of Smart Living Turn your geyser temperature down to 60°C Hot water accounts for almost 40% of your electricity bill. Turning down the thermostat by a degree or two will save you 5% on your electricity bill. In most cases, the thermostat is located in the little cover over the electrical element of the geyser. Switch off the electricity circuit at the mains, undo the cover, and turn down the thermostat. Or hire a plumber/electrician to help you. Use less hot water Take a short shower instead of a bath. Only fill the kettle with as much water as you need. Wash a full load of dishes, rather than one dish at a time. Wash clothing in cold water. Switch off equipment when not in use Turn appliances off at the wall rather than leaving them on standby as this can still draw about 6% or more electricity. Reduce pool pump operating hours Drop pool pump operating hours to 6 hours in summer and 4 hours in winter. Clean filters regularly, and consider a pool cover and turning off the pump entirely in winter.

   

 

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Reduce excessive heating or cooling Space heating in winter is a big power ‘guzzler’, and the same for summer cooling. Use oil heaters with thermostats and avoid under-floor heating. Wear warmer clothing. In summer use a fan rather than air-conditioning.

Low-cost options Investing under R1 000

Simple, cost-effective improvements

Install an efficient showerhead Cape Town water bylaws limit shower flow rates to no more than 10 litres per minute. To test this at home, hold a bucket under the showerhead for 12 seconds. If there is more than 2 litres in the bucket, then your showerhead is inefficient. A good, modern product will save both water and electricity without compromising your shower experience, and the saving pays back the investment within a few months. Insulate the geyser with a geyser blanket and insulate hot water pipes leading from the geyser to maximise heat retention. Install efficient lighting Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) use 6 times less power than old incandescent bulbs, and last much longer. Note that CFLs contain small amounts of harmful chemicals, so it’s best to take them to safe ‘drop off’ points at retailers like Woolworths or Pick ‘n Pay. There are also other kinds of efficient lighting on the market (e.g. LEDs), which are getting cheaper and more effective all the time. Of course, switching off lights in unoccupied rooms is an obvious way to save.

Invest-to-save options

Investments that create greater long-term savings Install a solar water heater. It uses the sun to heat up your water, saving 25% or more on your electricity bill. With rising electricity tariffs and subsidies from Eskom, the payback period is no more than 3.5 to 5 years.

   

 

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Activity Sheet

Insulate the ceiling Ceiling insulation can keep the home 5°C warmer in winter, and 10°C cooler in summer. More comfortable indoor temperatures mean less need for electrical heating and cooling, with savings of up to 65%. Insulating other parts of the house also helps (e.g. stopping heat loss through windows, walls or under doors), but the highest savings are from ceiling insulation.

Exercise: Divide yourselves into groups. Using the tips and icons developed by the City of Cape Town for the Electricity Savings Campaign, each group must choose an icon/ tip and develop a ‘School Electricity Alert’ campaign

around the icon/ tip. As a group, develop a poster and 5 minute skit based on the icon/ tip you choose for presentation in assembly (a ‘skit’ is a short play). The class can present 1 skit based on a icon/ tip in assembly over a period of weeks until all of the tips are covered- so that you can educate your school mates on electricity saving. The posters you develop can be shown to the school in assembly (along with the short skit) and then can be put up at the school. Each icon will be the theme for the week.

The picture adjacent shows an example of a ‘School Electricity Alert’ campaign poster that you can develop. You should use bold colors and headings. You will notice the keyword for this poster is ‘Press’. A keyword is a word that gives an overall idea of what something is about.

Take it Home:

• Stick up a copy of these icons in your home for other people to see so that they know how to save electricity.