‘Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!’

When you spend your day talking about energy with people, you start to pay attention to the use of energy everywhere! We talk about our carbon footprint with students and explain why it is important to be aware of our impact on planet Earth. Our energy consumption is a huge portion of how we measure our impact. You can measure your footprint here!

In the classes I’ve visited so far this year at John W MacLeod-Fleming Tower School, Maritime Muslim Academy, and Sackville Heights Junior High, I’ve been using the Energy Stick. This is a fun way to demonstrate how electricity flows in a circuit. When working with older students, I use it to explain the flow of electricity that occurs when our devices are turned off but still plugged in. With Halloween coming up we’ve been bringing attention to Phantom or Vampire Power.  Phantom Power is the electric power used by a device when it is turned off. If we think about it, many of our devices still show the time when the device is turned off. When we are in a rush and we might quickly unplug our phone when it is charging and leave the charger plugged into the wall outlet. Even though there is a small amount of power being consumed, it all adds up to wasted energy. If we consider all the devices in a school, and start estimating the phantom power in each classroom, it adds up quickly!

Become a Ghostbuster!

Green Schools NS helps schools get thinking about wasting less energy by encouraging a Phantom Friday Campaign. This is a perfect activity for anyone to bring to their school as the spooky holiday approaches. I promise you, once you start thinking about it, you’ll start to notice the invisible energy waste of phantom power. If we aim to raise awareness in our communities we will encourage a behavioural change, and that’s when the real saving starts!

More tips for Ghostbusters here!

~Kelsey Brasil, Engagement Officer/Agente d’engagement