This introductory video describes the basic principles of residential geothermal heat pumps.
This video explains what is involved in conducting a home energy audit. Such an audit evaluates how much energy you use in your house and suggests the most cost-effective measures you can take to improve the energy efficiency of your home. The outcomes are the use of less energy resulting in cost-savings on your energy bills.
This video, from the US Department of Energy, shows the basics of how a PV panel converts light radiated from the sun into usable power, whether on the electric grid or off, and without emissions or the use of fossil fuels.
This video provides a simple introduction to wind turbines and how they generate electricity.
This online calculator converts from one energy unit to another - from gallons to British thermal units (Btu), kilowatt/hours to megajoules, short tons to metric tons.
In this card game, participants trace back the source of energy for a variety of items to find that they ultimately derive from the Sun. This is a simple activity that lets students move around and discover an aspect of their everyday lives that may not have been apparent to them already.
This interactive provides two scenarios for students to look at issues related to energy and climate change: from the perspective of either a family, or a monarch.
Much of the general population believes that the energy sources we depend on are perpetual. While people believe that energy use is the culprit for environmental damage, they are not aware of the methods and principles by which energy conversion devices operate. This course will provide you with knowledge and information on the main operating principles of devices/appliances in common use and will help you in making energy efficient and economical choices. The objective of the course is to expose you to energy efficiency in day to day life in order to save money and energy and thereby protect the environment. I hope the information in this course will help you become an environmentally-responsible individual of this Global Village.
Students use Google Earth to analyze oil consumption per capita in the US and around the world. Students then use spreadsheets to create graphs and calculate statistics regarding per capita energy use among various categories.
Energy Everywhere. This is the Lesson 3 Digging Deeper activity, from Unit 3 Natural Resources, from the DIGS (Developing Individuals, Growing Stewards) AmeriCorps Curriculum from CSU. The curriculum focuses on introducing students in grades 3-5 to Colorado agriculture, industry and environmental issues. The curriculum upon request. Visit: https://engagement.colostate.edu/programs-old/developing-individuals-growing-stewards/
This pair of interactive visualizations allows students to explore basic and more complex concepts around heat conduction, heat capacity and energy transfer. The basic simulation demonstrates how heating and cooling iron, brick, water, and olive oil adds or removes energy from a system and transfers between objects. At the more advanced level, the systems simulation allows students to see that energy takes various forms, as well as how energy flows and changes from one form of energy into another.
This online activity challenges students to design a renewable energy system for one of five different cities, each with different energy resource potential and budgets. Students can test their designs using real-time weather data in each city.
Energy policy sits at the crossroads of science and policy. And now, energy and climate policy are inextricably linked; the policies we choose have very real consequences for our climate. This intersection of science and policy is chaotic and bustles with activity motivated by various competing (and conflicting) interests and factors. We must understand the motivations driving them and bridge the divides between our reliance on fossil fuels and our need to transition to less carbon-intensive and renewable alternatives. While the science and math behind these problems is often fairly straightforward, the politics and behavioral changes are not. Come stand at this busy intersection with us as we navigate toward progressive climate policy alternatives at all scales of governance!
This data visualization describes global and regional energy production. A pie chart shows percentage of each energy source used in various different countries.
This visualization includes a series of flow charts showing the relative size of primary energy resources and end uses in the United States for the years 2008-2012.
In this activity learners work in pairs or small groups to evaluate energy use in their school and make recommendations for improved efficiency. Students create and use an energy audit tool to collect data and present recommendations to their class. Further communication at the school and district level is encouraged.
Experiential learning, yes! But...online? at a distance? independent undergraduate research? This capstone course in Energy and Sustainability Policy is a novel approach to exactly this. Each student follows the same overarching structure: a four-part written research report, weekly journals, group discussions, a LinkedIn presence, an in-person presentation and a video submission. Along the way, the student has numerous personal interactions with real world stakeholders and gives an in-person presentation to an interested local audience. Proven over many semesters now, this engaged scholarship model serves senior students well, guiding and building confidence and professional opportunities.
An activity focusing on black carbon. This activity explores the impacts of the use of black carbon generating wood, dung, and charcoal for fuel in developing countries.
In this activity, students compare countries and nation states with high- and low-energy consumption rates within a specific region of the world. Students are encouraged to draw linkages between a country's energy culture and its position in multilateral climate negotiations.
This activity introduces students to different forms of energy, energy transformations, energy storage, and the flow of energy through systems. Students learn that most energy can be traced back to nuclear fusion on the sun.