CHARLOTTE – Students in dozens of North Carolina schools are finding ways to save energy in their schools.
It is all part of the Energy Wise program, which is a partnership between schools and an energy consultant group. The program has helped save more than one million dollars in Guilford County Schools and now 18 schools in Charlotte are testing it out.
These students are on patrol checking every classroom to make sure teachers are saving energy.
They are known as the energy wise club at Jeffrey W. Grier Academy in Charlotte. Students check lights, doors, and projectors to make sure energy is only used while necessary.
"They have forms they fill out and they use math to figure out the formula to figure out how much energy is used by that particular appliance or that particular light,” said Wendy Vickers, a teacher.
Students can measure energy using these tools supplied by energy wise.
The students use math and science skills to figure out how to save that energy throughout the school.
"This is where most classes usually start and that's where it's normally high,” said Shia, a student.
"When they look at a whole school lit up, to them it doesn't make much sense and they start taking that individual light, looking at how many watts it is and then transferring that to actual money and that's how we bring the math in,” said Vickers.
Energy Wise is about more than saving money.
"This is about saving money, it's about saving electricity, and saving natural gas and saving water, but at the end of the day what we try to make sure is clear is that you're saving the planet,” said Andrew Larow, the EduCon Energy president.
Saving the planet one student at a time.
"I tell my mom like make sure you turn off all the lights before you go to bed so to save some energy,” said Shia.