Teach Kids About Energy Savings to Encourage Good Habits for Life

Whether you’re planning to upgrade your incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescents, looking at a full-scale home energy assessment, or aiming to maximize the efficiency of your HVAC system, one of the best ways to lower energy consumption in your home is easy to overlook. Today the recommendation we have for you is simple and free: teach kids about energy savings.

Our top suggestion is to divide the tasks that lead to a more efficient home into zones. Then use those zones to teach kids about energy savings by providing a clear, age-appropriate task for the child to do daily. This encourages good habits and decreases your own workload. Here are some easy examples of learning zones:

• Light zone – This is probably the easiest zone for young children to understand because the flip of a switch shows energy being used. For little kids, the simple job of switching the lights off is a great start to lifelong energy savings.
• Power zone – Making a child responsible for shutting off electronics that aren’t being used is another simple way to teach youngsters about energy savings. This lesson can have a higher impact if you teach kids that chargers still use power whenever they’re plugged in, and TVs and other electronics still consume power on standby.
• Climate zone – Keeping windows and doors shut can be a huge battle with active kids, but teaching the importance of insulation or natural heating and cooling can help children understand this simple energy-saving step.

Once you’ve set up tasks, help your children understand the importance of doing their part by creating a chart where they can keep track of what they’ve done in the zones where they have responsibilities. And most important, reward them for doing their part both with encouragement and other inducements such as a healthy snack.

So, get ready to really make an impact and have the kids involved in your next home energy assessment. Remember, all Paschal Heat, Air & Geothermal technicians are trained as energy specialists, and we’re happy to help find solutions for your home efficiency needs. Please contact us today to schedule an appointment.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Northwest Arkansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about energy savings and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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