AK Reading Your Electric Meter

Target grades: Objectives:

3 -5 This lesson will teach students how to read their electric meter and
record home energy usage. Using the scientific method, students will
hypothesize how much their home electricity consumption fluctuates
AK GLEs:
(i.e., higher energy use on certain days), observe and collect data over
Science Math the course of a week, and then write a science report with a graph to
[3/4/5] SA1.1 [3] E&C-4 present their results.
[3/4/5] SA1.2 [4/5] E&C-3
[3/4] SA2.1 [3/4/5] S&P-2 Materials:
Pencils
Reading
Reading Your Electric Meter student worksheet
[3/4/5] 1.6.1
[3] 1.6.2
Background:
Knowing how to read and interpret the electric meter at your home
Set up time:
can greatly increase awareness of your household’s energy use and
15 minutes how this energy use is higher on certain days (e.g., laundry day,
weekends when household members are home all day, very cold days,
Class time: etc.) and lower on other days (e.g., weekdays when kids are at school/
Approximately two class sessions: one session parents at work, warmer days, etc.). An electric meter records energy
for learning how to read the meter and one for usage so that the utility company can determine a household’s electric
writing a science report and sharing students’ bill.
findings. The lesson also requires homework for Energy = Power x Time: Electric meters measure energy in kilowatt-
one week of collecting daily data.
hours (kWh). This is the amount of power (number of kilowatts) used
over a certain length of time (one hour):
Overview: 1 kW X 1 hour (h)=1 kWh
Students will learn how to read their home elec-
Energy use by household appliances is usually rated in watts (W):
trical meter, record the amount of energy their
household uses each day for a week, and write a 1,000 W = 1 kW
science report.
A 60 W appliance that is used for 1 hour would use 0.06 kWh. In order
to calculate this, we must convert watts to kilowatts:
60W X 1kW/1000W X 1 h=0.06 kWh
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Reading your Electric Meter

In Alaska, the price for a kilowatt-hour varies greatly depending on location and
fuel used for power generation, such as natural gas, hydropower, coal, or die-
sel. The average cost of electricity in the nation is about $0.12 / kWh, though
energy costs tend to be higher than elsewhere in the nation, especially in rural
Alaska. In 2000, the price of electricity was $0.216 / kWh in Unalaska, $0.396
/ kWh in Elim, and $0.464 / kWh in Cold Bay, and upwards of $0.75 / kWh in
some communities where fuel must be flown in.

Vocabulary List:
electric meter - a device that measures the amount of electricity used. Elec-
tric meters are used by electric companies to measure electricity use by their
customers for homes or businesses, and portable electric meters such as the
Kill-A-Watt meter can measure the electricity used by individual appliances.
energy - the ability of a system to do work; this might refer to either potential
or kinetic energy. Potential energy (stored energy) includes chemical, mechani-
cal, nuclear, and gravitational energy. Kinetic energy (motion energy) includes
radiant, thermal, motion, sound, and electrical energy.
kilowatt (kW) - a unit used to measure power. One kilowatt equals 1,000 watts
(W).
kilowatt-hour (kWh) - a unit used to measure energy. A kilowatt-hour is the
amount of energy used if you use 1000 watts for one hour and is equivalent to
3.6 million joules and 3,412 BTUs.
power - the rate at which work is performed or energy is converted; units of
power include both an amount of energy and a length of time.
scientific method (scientific process) - the methodological steps involved to
pursue knowledge which includes asking a question, conducting background
research, creating a hypothesis, collecting data through observations and/or an
experiment, analyzing the data, drawing a conclusion, and communicating the
results.
watt (W) - a unit used to measure power. One watt equals one joule per second
(j/s). A typical incandescent light bulb uses 60 W to keep the light bulb lit for
one hour.

Gear Up:
Lead a class discussion about home energy use; ask them what energy they use
during the day and if there are certain days their family might use more energy.
Record students’ responses on the board.
Reading an electric meter: Next, tell students that most homes have an elec-
tric meter outside so the utility company can track that home’s energy usage.
While meters at newer homes are likely to give a numeric or digital reading
output, older meters display with dials. This meter contains 4 dials which, from
left to right, represent the thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones:
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Reading your Electric Meter

Image Credit: http://www.fplsafetyworld.com/?ver=kkblue&utilid=www.fplsafetyworld.com&id=16234.

The dials on the electric meter would read “3,256 kWh.” Notice that some of
the dials turn clockwise while some turn counter-clockwise. If the dial is in
between two numbers, always read the smaller number. To determine the
amount of energy used over a certain amount of time, subtract the original
reading from the most recent reading (and the units are in kWh).
If your classroom setup permits, have your class take the Energy Quiz Show
from http://www.fplsafetyworld.com/?ver=kkblue&utilid=fplforkids&id=16235. This
online quiz is a great way to get them thinking about different forms of energy
and where they come from.
Another Gear Up is to take pictures of different meters and at different times,
or to simply draw different meters on the board to have the students practice
reading meters.

Activity:
Explain to students they will use the scientific method to track their home’s
energy usage for a week and write a scientific report on their findings. They will
pick a time when they are home every day to read the electric meter at approxi-
mately 24-hour intervals to keep their observations consistent.
Hand out the Electric Meter Experiment worksheets and have them begin to fill
out the problem, hypothesis, materials, and procedure sections in class. They
will then collect the electric meter data over the course of the week and fill in
the remaining sections on the worksheet.

Extension:
1. Have groups of three or four students graph their results on the same graph
to illustrate 1) how data compared from household to household and 2) to il-
lustrate how multiple data sets can be compared on the same graph.
2. Invite a representative from the local utility to come speak to the class about
electrical use in the community or organize a field trip to a local power plant.
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Reading your Electric Meter

Additional Resources:
Alaska Electric Light and Power Company
This website provides an online guide to reading an electric meter.
http://www.aelp.com/energy/readyourmeter.htm

Public Broadcasting Service

This website provides information, lessons, and games on household energy
consumption and a tutorial on how to read your electric meter.
http://pbskids.org/fetch/games/green/power/take.html

Energy Star
The Energy Star website has fun facts and lessons on everything related to
energy: what it is, where it comes from, types of energy, and how it can be
conserved.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=kids.kids_index

Alaska Grade Level Expectations addressed:

Science Performance Standards
The student demonstrates an understanding of the processes of science by:
[3] SA1.1 asking questions, predicting, observing, describing, measur-
ing, classifying, making generalizations, inferring, and communicating.
[3] SA1.2 observing and describing the student’s own world to answer
simple questions.
[4] SA1.1 asking questions, predicting, observing, describing, measur-
ing, classifying, making generalizations, inferring, and communicating.
[4] SA1.2 observing, measuring, and collecting data from explorations
and using this information to classify, predict, and communicate.
[5] SA1.1 asking questions, predicting, observing, describing, measur-
ing, classifying, making generalizations, inferring, and communicating.
[5] SA1.2 using quantitative and qualitative observations to create
inferences and predictions.
The student demonstrates an understanding of the attitudes and approaches to
scientific inquiry by:
[3] SA2.1 answering “how do you know?” questions with reasonable
answers.
[4] SA2.1 supporting the student’s own ideas with observations and
peer review.
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Reading your Electric Meter

Reading Performance Standards

The student follows written directions by:
[3] 1.6.1 Completing a simple (1–-2 step) task by following written
directions.
[3] 1.6.2 Identifying the sequence of steps in simple directions.
[4] 2.6.1 Completing a simple task by following written, multi-step
directions (e.g., recipe).
[5] 2.6.1 Completing a task by following written, multi-step directions
(e.g., origami).
The student demonstrates conceptual understanding of whole numbers to one
thousand by [3] N-1 reading, writing, ordering, or [counting L] (M1.1.1):
Math Performance Standards
The student accurately solves problems (including real-world situations) by:
[3] E&C-4 adding or subtracting two digit whole numbers (M3.1.3).
[4] E&C-3 adding or subtracting three digit whole numbers (M3.2.3).
[5] E&C-3 adding or subtracting four digit whole numbers, fractions
with like denominators to 12, or decimals involving money (M3.2.3).
The student demonstrates an ability to analyze data (comparing, explaining,
interpreting, or justifying conclusions) by:
[3] S&P-2 using information from a variety of displays (tallies, tables,
pictographs, bar graphs, or [Venn diagrams L] (M6.1.2).
[4] S&P-2 using information from a variety of displays (tables, bar
graphs, or Venn diagrams) (M6.2.2).
[5] S&P-2 using information from a variety of displays (tables, bar
graphs, line graphs, or Venn diagrams) (M6.2.2).

Acknowledgment: “This material is based upon work supported by the Department of

Energy under Award Number DE-EE0000827”.
Disclaimer: “This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency
of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any
agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied,
or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or
usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents
that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific
commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or
otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation,
or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and
opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the
United States Government or any agency thereof.”