One has heard a great deal in recent years about designing self-sustaining communities, organizations that can subsist independently on what they make. Planning for this kind of community is challenging--today most people take for granted having essential services like water, sewage, communications, natural gas, and electricity delivered right to…

The growing field of energy assessment for buildings presents opportunities for teachers to engage students in topics related to current issues, science, technology, and communication skills. Students who find satisfaction in energy auditing can expand their interests into careers as the demand to stop wasteful practices in homes and businesses…

Starting a renewable energy technology (RET) program can be as simple as shifting the teaching and learning focus of a traditional electricity program toward energy production and energy control systems. Redirecting curriculum content and delivery to address photovoltaic solar (PV solar) technology and small wind generation systems is a natural…

Using two cardboard boxes, a light bulb socket, light bulbs of varying wattage, a thermometer, and some insulation, students can learn some interesting lessons about how heat loss occurs in homes. This article describes practical experiments that work well on units related to energy, sustainable energy, renewables, engineering, and construction.…

Most high school students are at an age when they are learning to drive. They often want to offer input when their parents decide on what vehicle to purchase, so the activity described in this article should have direct personal interest for them. It allows students to use technology and mathematics to determine the environmental impacts of…

In this activity, students will develop an understanding of the economic impact of technology by estimating the cost savings of power management strategies in the classroom. Students will learn how to adjust computer display settings to influence the impact that the computer has on the financial burden to the school. They will use mathematics to…

With both energy usage and energy costs rising rapidly, people can benefit from paying closer attention to their consumption of energy. Students can gain greater awareness of their personal use of electricity and get some excellent experience with the practical application of mathematics by studying their families' consumption of electricity. A…

Energy is the lifeblood of the United States. It powers its industries and keeps its economy humming. The nation's progress has relied on making energy abundantly available to support the growth of new ideas and products, and the issue of renewable energy is an increasingly important one. In this article, the author discusses some of the basics of…

Every day, the sun showers the planet with millions of times more energy that its people use. The only problem is that the energy is spread out over the entire earth's surface and thus must be harvested. Engineers are learning to capture and use some of this energy to make electricity for homes. A well-designed solar system can last for 20 years…

A photovoltaic panel can convert sunlight directly into electricity. If one connects enough of them in a series-parallel arrangement called a solar array, they can provide about half of a home's annual electricity needs. The panels comprise specially treated electronic materials that when exposed to sunlight will give up electrons freely, and…