Today is Energy Efficiency Day. Celebrate with LPEA by cutting your energy waste and reducing your power consumption. Conserving energy is just one way we can help the environment and minimize the use of our energy resources. As students, parents and teachers settle in to the school year, more energy will be used in homes and classrooms.

Here are 5 easy ways kids can be a part of conserving energy at home:

1. Take a shower instead of a bath. Taking a bath can use up to 25 gallons of water, that’s just for one wash! It takes power and energy to heat the water that is used in both baths and showers. However, taking a shower uses 3.5 times less water than a bath which means a lot less energy is used to heat the water. Switching to showers is a great way to conserve energy while staying squeaky clean.

2. Limit electronic usage. The summer months were a great time to get kids off of electronics and outside to play. As we approach the colder months, it may be harder to keep kids off of electronics. However, limited electronic use is a great way to conserve energy. When devices are used less frequently they don’t require as much charging time. This means that less of our electricity is being used to power electronics. Consider implementing a screen time rule or come up with fun activities, like STEM projects, to do indoors during the winter.

3. Turn everything off when you aren't in the room. When lights, TVs, computers, video games, and other devices are left on and aren’t being used they waste electricity. A simple way that kids can help conserve energy is to be responsible for turning off all lights and devices when leaving a room for more than a few minutes. This not only makes them more conscious about how their actions affect the environment but also builds in practical ways they can be a part of energy conservation.

4. Use a reusable water bottle. Using reusable water bottles is a great way to conserve energy and reduce waste. Plastic bottles take a large amount of oil and energy to produce. They also create massive amounts of waste. In just one week enough plastic bottles are used to wrap around the world five times. With this large amount of waste and energy used to produce plastic bottles, opt for a reusable one this school year and help conserve energy.

5. Teach kids to be energy efficient. When doing household chores such as laundry and washing dishes, get kids accustomed to using electricity outside peak hours (4-9 p.m.) on weekdays. This means drying clothes after school and loading the dishwasher but not running it until after 9. (If your dishwasher isn't programmable, a parent can turn it on after kids are in bed). Or, wait until the weekend for chores.

The more we as parents can instill these method early, the more likely they are to become life-long habits.