Saving Energy at Home

Lab Brief #5

🎯 Your mission

Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.

⚡ The twist

Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.

What you'll learn

The biggest household energy savings are usually not the ones people think of. Heating and hot water typically dwarf lighting, so insulating a loft saves far more than switching off a lamp — even though the lamp is easier to notice.

Key words

insulation
Material that slows the escape of heat from a building.
energy audit
A survey of where a building's energy is actually being used.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

appliance rating labels
calculator
notebook

⚠️ Safety first

Read rating labels only — never open an appliance or a fuse box.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "insulation" and "energy audit" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

List every appliance in one room with its power rating and estimated daily hours. Rank them by weekly energy use and compare your ranking with what you assumed before you started.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

In most homes, the largest energy use is:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

An energy audit is done in order to find:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Where Drinking Water Comes From All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”

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