Energy wasters
Did you know?
Energy cannot be created or destroyed,
only transferred from one form to
another. When we talk about wasting
energy, we mean the energy is being
transferred to our surroundings –
which makes it difficult to do anything
useful with it, and we still pay for this
energy, both in terms of money
and in carbon emissions.
Energise Anything!
Science
scene-setter
Put it to
the test
There are lots of different
ways to generate power – as it
shows in our animation. But a
lot of the energy we produce is
wasted. Things like microwave
ovens, set-top boxes, TVs
and DVD players with digital
displays are electronic
vampires. They all
suck power while
we’re not using them.
Cut your energy bills.
Seek out the electronic
vampires and other
energy-wasters in
your home – and
find ways to reduce the
amount of power they use.
Key activity steps
Camera or smart phone
Research
eonenergy.com/energiseanything
Visit our careers page to see where a love for science could
take you: eonenergy.com/stickwithstem
fun
engaging
innovative
dynamic
relevant
interactive
different
positive
Put your idea into practice.

Ask your family what they think

Can you improve it?

Post a picture of your energy saving hack
on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter using a
#MyEnergyHack. See the box to the right
for more detail.
Interested in this? You could be...

A mechanical engineer – develop products (of all sizes)
around the world to solve problems

An electrical engineer – design and develop new
electrical equipment, solve problems and test equipment

A materials scientist – study and analyse chemical
properties of different man-made and natural materials.
creative
Test
educational
unique
3
inspiring
interesting
Design some ways to encourage your family to use less energy – let’s call them energy hacks.

Your energy saving hacks need to be relevant to your family and easy to use

Can you make a shower timer to encourage the bathroom hogs in your family to spend less time washing?
Or create a device to measure the right amount of water to put in the kettle for one cup of tea?

Can you adapt existing ideas to make them more quirky and likely to catch people’s attention?

The only limit is your imagination – although please don’t tinker with mains electricity, or add things to
electrical appliances.
E.ON’s Energise Anything has already engaged over 25,000
young people. We asked some of their teachers to describe it
in three words. Here’s what they said most often!
different
energetic
purposeful
Design
Basic craft materials and tools to create
your hack
exciting
Watch our animation Generations of power: eonenergy.com/secondaryathome
Have a look around your home and see where you could reduce the amount of energy you use. Some common
culprits are:


Boiling a full kettle for one cup of tea
Falling asleep in front of the TV


Having lots of baths or spending too long in the
Leaving fully charged appliances plugged in

Having the heating on all year or set too high
shower


A digital display on a microwave that is
Leaving lights, fans or other appliances on in an
constantly on
empty room.
2
Internet
memorable
1
Equipment and resources
motivating
informative
Energy wasters | Energise Anything!