Stage 3 – GGC ProjectReduce the Juice Challenge – 4 pts

DESCRIPTION:

New for 2016-2017 in DPSCD Go Green is the Reduce the Juice Challenge. This project encourages students to take a leadership role in both educating their classmates about the benefits of saving energy and in motivating other students and teachers to practice energy efficiency in their classrooms. Over the course of 24 hours, students and teachers at your school will “Reduce the Juice” by powering down electricity-using devices such as projectors, lights, computers, and fans, among others.

Students will develop a campaign to make the school aware of the Challenge, promote why saving energy is important, and share the best ways to save. For example, as a part of the Challenge, students may:

Create posters advertising the Challenge and place them around the school Issue school announcements about best energy saving methods for classrooms Do sustainability patrols to ensure that students and teachers are exercising best

practices Create a lesson or skit on energy efficiency and perform this for their classmates Host a “Reduce the Juice” school-wide assembly Etc.

Think of this challenge as a one-day “Recycle Bowl” for energy. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of why energy is important and how best to save it – all while making their school more energy-friendly.

Sounds good! What happens after we “Reduce the Juice”?

Each 24-hour Reduce the Juice Challenge your school completes (with appropriate Evidence, detailed below) nets your school ONE (1) point in the Go Green Challenge. There are four (4) total points for this project, so that means that your school can submit four Challenges via Credly to receive the maximum four GGC points.

Okay, so we should only reduce our juice four total times during the Energy Challenge, right?

Wrong! The more energy you save during these Reduce the Juice Challenges, the more you have a chance to win cash awards (up to $600) for your green team! Every year in the Go Green Challenge, the top 10 energy saving schools receive cash awards at the final ceremony – this year, the top 10 energy savers will be selected from the schools that save the most total energy during THIS project. This means that you should “Reduce the Juice” as many times as you can and submit via Credly (again, with appropriate evidence – detailed below). For example, many schools may choose to Reduce the Juice every Friday of the Energy Challenge as part of their regular school programming. Although you cannot receive more than four (4) GGC Points, there are plenty of reasons to continue to complete this project and save more energy!

Can’t wait! But do I have to do this project to be eligible for cash awards as a top ten energy saver?

Yes! To be eligible for cash awards as a top ten energy saver, your school must complete this project AT LEAST TWICE. Also, energy savings will only be calculated for your school from the total KWh saved from THIS project (the total of all energy saved from your Reduce the Juice Challenges). This incentivizes schools and students to consciously engage their entire school in energy efficiency and better controls for the direct impact students have on their school’s energy use.

Enough questions, I’m ready to get started! How do I “Reduce the Juice”?

PROCEDURE:

1) Talk to your Facility Manager – While reading the meter is easy, you will need your facility manager’s assistance to find and access the meter. Check the number of meters you have and verify this with your facility manager. If you have more than one meter, you will need to read and sum all meters to get an accurate comparison to your baseline. Please contact us if you have questions about this.

2) Prepare – Talk to your students about the importance of saving energy and what they can do to make their school more energy efficient – your AmeriCorps Green School Coordinators can help guide these discussions.

3) Promote – Encourage your students to develop a school-wide energy saving campaign to promote the Reduce the Juice Challenge – make it a big deal! Work with your school administration to set a date for the Challenge and task your students with finding fun ways to get everyone excited for energy savings.

Whether you use posters, announcements, assemblies, classroom competitions, student-led skits, or anything else just remember: The Challenge only works when you get the whole school involved!

4) Take the Meter Readings to Calculate Baseline Daily Use – A meter reading picture guide and step-by-step calculation worksheet are included in this project. We suggest your sustainability patrol team take meter readings during their patrols.

a. Take a 1st meter reading b. Take a 2nd meter reading exactly 24 hours laterc. Calculate your baseline daily use by taking the difference between the two

readings

5) Reduce the Juice!!! – Your Reduce the Juice Challenge should start 24 hours after your first meter reading.

6) Take your final Meter Reading – take your third, and final, meter reading 24 hours following your second reading. This will allow you to calculate the amount of energy you used during your 24 hour Reduce the Juice Challenge.

7) Complete the Reduce the Juice Calculation and Discussion Questions Worksheets with your students – Completing the calculation worksheet with your students will allow you to determine your total KWh energy savings compared to your baseline energy usage. Debrief with your students using the discussion questions provided (adding your own as needed) and start preparing for your next Challenge!

EVIDENCE:

To earn this point (or to have your Challenge considered within your school’s total energy savings), you must submit the following:

a correctly completed Reduce the Juice Calculation Worksheet a completed event debrief (either the attached Discussion Questions or a paragraph

outlining student reflections from the event) Two (2) pictures from the event (either reading your meter, or the Reduce the Juice

Challenge itself)

Remember: to be eligible to win an energy saving award, you must complete at least two (2) Reduce the Juice Challenges at your school. The awards will be distributed based on which schools saved the most energy per square foot cumulatively for all their Challenges.

CREDLY CODE:

Use this code to claim your credit on Credly: GGCJuice

HOW TO READ YOUR METER:

Reading your meter is simple and fun! Follow these easy steps:

A) Your school’s meter will flash between three screens. The correct measurement to read is the energy use in “kW h”. When the units displayed in the bottom right of the meter screen (Letter A in the below picture) says “kW h”, you are ready to take the reading.

B) Take the reading. In this picture below the reading is “114”, located next to the letter B.

C) Multiply the reading by the multiplier. In this picture the multiplier is 400. Mulitply 114 by 400 to get 45,600 kW h. That is your meter reading! (If you do not have a yellow sticker with the mulitpier, contact DPS Go Green at dps.gogreen@detroitk12.com for the number).

Remember you will need to read the meter two times, at the same time on different days, to calcuate a daily energy use.

REDUCE THE JUICE CACLUATION WOKRSHEET:

Step 1 – Take a meter reading at a specific time during the day at least 24 hours before your Reduce the Juice Challenge (try to make sure it is either before or after the school day, if possible)

__________ X ___________ = __________________ TIME TAKEN: ______ AM/PM Kw h Multiplier 1st meter reading

Step 2 – Take a 2nd meter reading at the same specific time 24 hours (ONE DAY) later, right before your Reduce the Juice Challenge

__________ X ___________ = __________________ TIME TAKEN: ______ AM/PM Kw h Multiplier 2nd meter reading

Step 3 – Take a 3nd meter reading at the same specific time 24 hours (ONE DAY) following the 2nd meter reading – after your Reduce the Juice Challenge

__________ X ___________ = __________________ TIME TAKEN: ______ AM/PM Kw h Multiplier 3rd meter reading

Step 4 – Subtract your 1st meter reading from your 2nd meter reading to determine your baseline energy use

_________________ - ________________ = __________________2nd meter reading 1st meter reading Baseline energy use

Step 5 – Subtract your 2nd meter reading from your 3rd meter reading to determine your Challenge energy use

_________________ - ________________ = __________________3rd meter reading 2nd meter reading Challenge energy use

Step 6 – Compare the energy you used during your Reduce the Juice Challenge (step 5) to your baseline energy use (step 4) to determine your energy savings! If you have more than one meter, repeat steps 1-5 for each meter.

Add all the results for step 4 to each other and add the results for step 5 to each other.Continue to the next page.

REDUCE THE JUICE CALCULATION WORKSHEET (CONT.)

___________________ - __________________________ = ______________Baseline daily use (step 4) Challenge use (step 5) Reduce the Juice savings (Kwh)Step 7 – See how much you are saving. Average cost for electricity at DPS is $0.106/KWH. X $0.106 = ___________________Reduce the Juice Savings (KWh) Electricity Cost Daily savings ($)

Discussion Questions Is our Reduce the Juice energy savings (KWh) above or below 0?______________________________________________________________

Does that mean we used more or less energy than our baseline?______________________________________________________________

How much more or less (as a percentage)?______________________________________________________________

What did we learn through this Reduce the Juice Challenge that we can use for our next Challenge?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

METER READING FAQS:

Q: What time of day should I read the meter?

A: Any time of day is technically ok, just be sure to read the meter at the same time when you take your second meter reading. However, for best results during the Reduce the Juice Challenge, please read your meter before or after the school day.

Q: How many days should I wait between meter readings?

A: For the Reduce the Juice Challenge period (3-day period), please read your meter every 24 hours.

Q: Where is the meter? Is it safe to be there?

A: Meters are typically outside. Yes, it is safe to be near them. Please make sure your facility manager is present and on board with the project. After taking a meter reading, we suggest taking a boiler room tour with your Facility Manager. Tours in the past years have received hugely positive responses from students and are a good opportunity for facility managers to introduce students to careers in engineering or building management.

Q: Can students do this at home?

A: Yes! It is the same process, except there is no multiplier at home meters. Students can use the same process to determine electricity use at home. In fact, DTE takes two readings of your home meter one month apart to determine the monthly electricity bill.

Q: A ‘kW h”…what is that?

A: A “kW h” is a unit of energy. It stands for Kilowatt Hour. That is 1,000 Watts (power) delivered over 1 hour (time). It is equivalent to having a 100-watt light bulb on for 10 hours.

Q: What does that mean in dollars and cents? For the environment?

A: The district, and your home, pay about $0.106 per kW h (so 1,000 kW h would be $106). In Detroit, 1 kW h of electricity produces about 1.9 lbs of CO2 and uses about .68 lbs of coal. (The price, and amount of CO2 emitted and coal used vary from region to region based on factors like the sources of energy used to make the electricity.)

Q: According to our meter readings our average daily use is way lower than our baseline! That means I win the Energy Challenge, right?!

A: The Meter Reading project allows real time feedback and provides opportunities for your students to explore energy use (for example, comparing the daily use of the school when school is in session versus over a break). This year it is important to do this activity correctly, as the results will guide your success in the Reduce the Juice Challenge!

** Note: If you have multiple meters, make sure your total is the sum of the readings of all meters.