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Students at Fayetteville Junior High are learning how their families can save money on their utility bills by investigating how efficiently their own households use electricity.  Through the PowerHouse™ energy investigation program, the 22 students in Mitch Madden’s sixth-grade science class learned about the effects of energy use on natural resources and the environment.  Fayette Electric Cooperative sponsored the program. 

PowerHouse participants learn how renewable and non-renewable electricity is produced, and the five steps that electricity takes to travel from the generation plant to their homes.  By evaluating their own energy-use habits, they see firsthand how wise choices can help their families save money and reduce their impacts on the environment.

The students discovered that during the summer, sunny windows can make their air conditioners work two to three times harder.  Installing blinds or curtains and closing them on south- and west-facing windows during the day can help keep rooms cooler. 

Students receive energy audit reports based on information they provide. The reports include information about the environmental impacts from each household’s energy use, and they offer ideas to reduce those impacts.

“At a time when families are tightening their household budgets, PowerHouse is teaching students and their families that simple changes, like using LED lighting and changing thermostats to energy efficient settings can help reduce their utility bills,” said FEC Marketing and Training Coordinator Catherine Poppe.