Over the last couple of weeks we have been doing the E3 unit. This unit was very educational and I learned a lot from it. Some of the new things I learned included: the difference between the 2 different types of light bulbs, where a lot of the energy is used in my house, and things that help you save money. First we learned what used up most of the energy in your house. The thing that took up the most energy was the heating and cooling systems. This was not very surprising to me because I know that most people have their thermostat set too high or too low. Also these things pretty much run all day and all night keeping your house the right temperature for the appropriate season. The second most energy consuming thing was appliances. Some appliances include: TV, Computer, Refrigerator, and chargers. This was not surprising to me because I know most people keep their TV’s on when they are not watching. Also people always leave all or most of these appliances plugged in all the time which uses energy as well. The third most energy consuming thing is the water heater. This was surprising because I did not really know much about the water heater. After this E3 unit I know what the water heater should be set on and other things that now I realize that the water heater works a lot, and uses a lot of energy. The fourth most energy consuming thing is lighting. This was surprising to me because I thought lighting would be number one or two. Many people leave lights on most of the time, even when they are not in the room. I know I sometimes forget to turn the lights off when I leave a room. Another thing I learned from this unit was how CFLs are a lot better than IL. I knew that CFLs cost more money when you buy them, and I knew that in the long run CFLs cost less. After doing the lab with the comparing of the two types of bulbs, I learned that CFLs cost a lot less over a lifespan of the light bulb and plus they last longer. I also learned that just by doing small things like having your thermostat set at the right temperature, having your refrigerator on the right temperature, and many other things you can save money on your energy bill. Over the course of this unit I learned a lot.
I am going to change many things in my life after learning all the things from this unit. I am going to start unplugging my phone charger and Xbox. These us a lot of energy when not at use and plugged in, so by unplugging them that will save money. Also I’m going to turn off the light when I leave a room. This will save money in a couple ways. First it will save money by not having lights on that are not in use, and if the lights are not on as much then they will last long. Then you won’t have to buy light bulbs as much. I’m going to start buying CFLs since they are a lot more energy efficient and last longer. The CFLs save a lot of money too. Another thing I am going to try to do is make sure the thermostat is set on the right temperature. My house won’t be using more energy than it should. I am going to make sure there are good windows and good insulation in my house so when I do have my house heated up or cooled off the temperature will stay in. This way the A/C or heater won’t run more than it needs to.
After learning all these new things I think I will be an advocate for energy efficiency because it will help them save money. Also it will help with pollution. For example: changing to CFLs will cause a lot less CO2 emissions in the air. Also switching to these light bulbs will save them a lot of money. I will tell them all the fact I learned and teach them how they can save energy just like I learned in this unit. Then once they know they can tell their friends and family and slowly people will start to become aware of how to be energy efficient. It will take some time but over time people should just keep passing on the information to other people and the cycle will just keep going.
There are many things I liked from this unit. I liked getting all the cool things that we put in our house and get to use. I also liked how there was a lab that went along with each thing we got. It showed us how the object saved us money and how it helps save energy. Off the top of my head there really isn’t anything that I can think of that I didn’t like. I don’t think I would change anything with this unit because it was fun and I enjoyed it. Maybe they could add like a couple more things for us to use but other than that I wouldn’t take out any of the labs. This was a very fun unit and I liked it the way it was.
