Teaching Tips

• Great introduction to energy audit/project-based learning by students/student teams for schools, houses, and communities.
• Good resource that can supplement implementing this video: http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/professional-home-energy-audits

About the Content

• A home energy checkup helps owners determine where their house is losing energy and money - and how such problems can be corrected to make the home more energy efficient. Specific items in an audit include checking for leaks, examining insulation, inspecting the furnace and ductwork, performing a blower door test and using an infrared camera.
• Comments from expert scientist: Basic principles of home energy auditing as presented in the video are sound, but it leads the viewer to believe that if they implement the suggested measures they will see significant changes to their energy bill. This may not be the case.

About the Pedagogy

• Educator could use a website such as http://energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-efficiency to supplement the video with other curricular tie-ins, like home energy audits for students to implement in their own homes.
• 508 compliant. Captions and interactive transcript provided only on the Youtube version (see caution below).

Technical Details/Ease of Use

• Video also available on Youtube but string of comments is distracting.
• Buffering is sometimes an issue when viewing.

Related URLs These related sites were noted by our reviewers but have not been reviewed by CLEAN