Collaborators:
Gabriella Muinde
Abstract:
The purpose of this lab was to get a better understanding of the amount of energy that is used in your house. Though out a ten day period you would record the amount of kWh used per day and how that energy was being used whether it be though cooking, the washer and dryers or the t.v. Then you would go though multiple math steps to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide that is being released by your house. At the end of the lab you would determined if the amount of energy used in your house is reasonable and or what steps can be taken to help reduce that amount of energy that your family is consuming. About one third of the carbon dioxide emissions is because of electricity so, the more electricity that is being used by humans that higher the amount of global warming. Believe it or not just by improving the electricity usage in your house you could be helping to reduce the rate of global warming. Which in return could have a great effect on the economy.
Problem:
What are the impacts of the energy being consumed in your house? What steps can be taken to help reduce the amount of emission of pollutants from power plants?
Materials:
- Electric meter
- Utility bill
- Your house
Methods:
1. You must read the electric meter every day at the same time for a ten day period and record the values.
2. When recording make daily notes on the patterns of electricity use in your household, mainly the use of large appliances. Note usual settings for the AC, water heater, cooking etc.
3. Also make notes of the weather that may effect heating or cooling.
4. When these steps are completed call your electric company to determine the type of fuel being used.
5. You then use this information to complete table 2 and the questions that come along with this lab.
6. Then the next thing to do would be to inspect and report on certain areas of your home.
Data:
Gabriella Muinde
Abstract:
The purpose of this lab was to get a better understanding of the amount of energy that is used in your house. Though out a ten day period you would record the amount of kWh used per day and how that energy was being used whether it be though cooking, the washer and dryers or the t.v. Then you would go though multiple math steps to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide that is being released by your house. At the end of the lab you would determined if the amount of energy used in your house is reasonable and or what steps can be taken to help reduce that amount of energy that your family is consuming. About one third of the carbon dioxide emissions is because of electricity so, the more electricity that is being used by humans that higher the amount of global warming. Believe it or not just by improving the electricity usage in your house you could be helping to reduce the rate of global warming. Which in return could have a great effect on the economy.
Problem:
What are the impacts of the energy being consumed in your house? What steps can be taken to help reduce the amount of emission of pollutants from power plants?
Materials:
- Electric meter
- Utility bill
- Your house
Methods:
1. You must read the electric meter every day at the same time for a ten day period and record the values.
2. When recording make daily notes on the patterns of electricity use in your household, mainly the use of large appliances. Note usual settings for the AC, water heater, cooking etc.
3. Also make notes of the weather that may effect heating or cooling.
4. When these steps are completed call your electric company to determine the type of fuel being used.
5. You then use this information to complete table 2 and the questions that come along with this lab.
6. Then the next thing to do would be to inspect and report on certain areas of your home.
Data:
Inspection and Report:
a. The attic has the Owens Corning EcoTouch Kraft which has an r-value of about R-30 which is a good.
b. The are multiple trees that are providing shade from the back of the house and then there is one tree providing shade in the front of the house.
c. The roof is black shingles and it is in very good condition. When it rains the water flows down the pipes on the side of the house and goes straight into the grass.
d. The attic is very well insulated and their is no outside air coming in or out.
e. The doors were very tight while the windows had a little bit of cold air coming though.
f. The vinyl coloring of the house is soft maple and pebble clay. Both colors are light which cause them to reflect heat.
g. Then the roof being a dark color allows it to absorb more heat
Analysis and Conclusion:
Throughout this project I got a better understanding of how much energy is being consumed each month by my family and I. By taking note of the appliances used each day and looking to see the difference in the kWh used per day you can see what activities use the most amount of energy. From there you can try an figure out what steps can be taken to try and decrease the amount of energy that your household uses. When inspecting my house I saw that there was a little bit of air coming from the windows. The air being released from the windows causes for there to be a need for more heat or air- conditioner use. By putting more insulation on the windows and stopping the air from coming in or being released my family can easily reduce the utility bill and also reduce the amount of energy being used to make up for the heat or cool air being wasted by the windows releasing air. My family also has habits of leaving lights on that are not being used and also keeping things plugged in that do not need to be. Every day the amount of energy consumed by these things can add up to a lot. So by shutting the lights off when they are not being used and also unplugging things that are not in use we can deduct the amount of energy being used each month. Just by going these few steps my family will be able to see the impact that it truly has on our electric bill. Also we can cause for there to be a less amount of energy being wasted by humans each month.
General Analysis:
For many years the amount of carbon dioxide being released has been increasing the amount of global warming in the society. Along with this has been the lack of awareness of the effects of energy being wasted. Many people do not understand that keeping a light on that is not needed can have a very big effect on the amount of energy being consumed in their house. They just think that it would cause an increase on their electric bill but wasting energy can do a lot more then that. Not only will it raise your bill but it will also increase the amount of carbon dioxide that is being emitted by your house. The more people that are doing this the greater the rate of global warming. Based on the article that I have attached the amount of energy being wasted has gotten so back that Obama now feels the need to pass laws that will limit the amount of carbon dioxide emissions for existing power plants. As said in the article electric power plants are the highest sources that effect the rate of global warming. Accounting for about 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions. Obama plans on passing this law as fast as he can before things begin to get worse. Based on what I have learning passing these laws can have a great effect on global warming and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. With the creation of more things being created that waste less energy it would cause for the rate of waste energy to decrease which would in return cause for global warming to also decrease. These are important situations that many humans need to become more aware of. The amount of electricity that humans use in their house will not only effect the amount of their bill but it will also effect the rate of carbon dioxide emissions and global warming.
Citation:
Click on Button Text.
a. The attic has the Owens Corning EcoTouch Kraft which has an r-value of about R-30 which is a good.
b. The are multiple trees that are providing shade from the back of the house and then there is one tree providing shade in the front of the house.
c. The roof is black shingles and it is in very good condition. When it rains the water flows down the pipes on the side of the house and goes straight into the grass.
d. The attic is very well insulated and their is no outside air coming in or out.
e. The doors were very tight while the windows had a little bit of cold air coming though.
f. The vinyl coloring of the house is soft maple and pebble clay. Both colors are light which cause them to reflect heat.
g. Then the roof being a dark color allows it to absorb more heat
Analysis and Conclusion:
Throughout this project I got a better understanding of how much energy is being consumed each month by my family and I. By taking note of the appliances used each day and looking to see the difference in the kWh used per day you can see what activities use the most amount of energy. From there you can try an figure out what steps can be taken to try and decrease the amount of energy that your household uses. When inspecting my house I saw that there was a little bit of air coming from the windows. The air being released from the windows causes for there to be a need for more heat or air- conditioner use. By putting more insulation on the windows and stopping the air from coming in or being released my family can easily reduce the utility bill and also reduce the amount of energy being used to make up for the heat or cool air being wasted by the windows releasing air. My family also has habits of leaving lights on that are not being used and also keeping things plugged in that do not need to be. Every day the amount of energy consumed by these things can add up to a lot. So by shutting the lights off when they are not being used and also unplugging things that are not in use we can deduct the amount of energy being used each month. Just by going these few steps my family will be able to see the impact that it truly has on our electric bill. Also we can cause for there to be a less amount of energy being wasted by humans each month.
General Analysis:
For many years the amount of carbon dioxide being released has been increasing the amount of global warming in the society. Along with this has been the lack of awareness of the effects of energy being wasted. Many people do not understand that keeping a light on that is not needed can have a very big effect on the amount of energy being consumed in their house. They just think that it would cause an increase on their electric bill but wasting energy can do a lot more then that. Not only will it raise your bill but it will also increase the amount of carbon dioxide that is being emitted by your house. The more people that are doing this the greater the rate of global warming. Based on the article that I have attached the amount of energy being wasted has gotten so back that Obama now feels the need to pass laws that will limit the amount of carbon dioxide emissions for existing power plants. As said in the article electric power plants are the highest sources that effect the rate of global warming. Accounting for about 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions. Obama plans on passing this law as fast as he can before things begin to get worse. Based on what I have learning passing these laws can have a great effect on global warming and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. With the creation of more things being created that waste less energy it would cause for the rate of waste energy to decrease which would in return cause for global warming to also decrease. These are important situations that many humans need to become more aware of. The amount of electricity that humans use in their house will not only effect the amount of their bill but it will also effect the rate of carbon dioxide emissions and global warming.
Citation:
Click on Button Text.