Parental pleas to turn off lights, use less water, or close doors to the outside and the refrigerator mean more today for the students at Fayetteville Middle School who attended a program sponsored by Fayette Electric Cooperative. 

Catherine Poppe, of FEC, and Nicholas Cowey of the Lower Colorado River Authority,  facilitated the PowerHouse™ Energy Investigation Program, which teaches middle school students and their families about the effects of energy use on natural resources and the environment. 

Through the PowerHouse  program, students in Mitch Madden’s fifth grade science class, together with their parents, investigated and recorded their household’s energy usage.  The results of their investigation were then entered into the PowerHouse software program. This program analyzed the data and produced a personalized report showing patterns of energy use, some energy-saving tips and a summary of their impact on the environment.  The program also offers practical solutions that students can take home to share with their families. 

During the classroom presentation, Poppe and Cowey shared simple energy tips that the students could share with their families to help them save money on their energy bills. 

Kara Jurecka said, “We learned that incandescent light bulbs heat up to 350 degrees and are very hot, and waste energy.” 

Payton Schulze said, “I learned that LED lights are the most expensive but they last the longest.” 

Brayden Langley learned that sealing leaks around windows and doors with weather stripping saves energy and money on the monthly utility bill. 

“I learned that setting your air conditioner at 78 degrees in the summer and the heater at 68 degrees in the winter can save money,” said Haylee Meier. 

“The objective of the PowerHouse program is to teach students that simple changes, like using LED lighting and changing thermostats to energy efficient settings can help them save energy and reduce their utility bills,” said FEC Marketing and Training Coordinator Catherine Poppe.