Jennifer Alldredge
Program Manager
Alliance to Save Energy
[email protected]
(615) 830-1875
Energy Hogs - the Super Villains Students Love to Defeat
Keywords: Energy Hogs, Engaging students in saving energy, energy efficiency, education best
practices, making energy visible, empowering students to generate change
Abstract
Students have always been motivated by their heroes; the success of graphic novels, super hero
films, and gaming demonstrates this fascination with super heroes continues today. The Energy
Hog provides what every hero needs most: a super villain. By making students energy super
heroes the Energy Hog excites their imaginations and innate desire to "do good", thus making
what can be a more invisible problem such as energy waste something visible and a challenge to
overcome.
The Energy Hog is a dastardly character designed to make energy visible. Many people,
especially K-12 students, are aware of energy's effects when they turn on a light or power up an
appliance, but they rarely think about where that energy came from or the costs associated with
it. This is particularly true in schools where, as a rule, individuals within the school don’t receive
the building's energy bill. This disconnect creates a culture where energy is overlooked,
undervalued, and therefore wasted.
Usually delivered in an assembly for elementary students and in other formats for high school,
the Award-Winning* Energy Hog Program educates students about the basics of energy
efficiency and conservation. The presenter uses key elements about behavioral choices to set the
stage for students to understand about the importance of reducing waste. Enter the Energy Hog, a
six-foot tall mascot demonstrating inappropriate behavior choices including wasting energy.
Students love him. He's funny and completely naughty, making choices students know are
wrong. However, while engaging in the Energy Hog shenanigans, students also recognize
quickly that he is wasting energy, something they have just learned is inappropriate. They
respond immediately by demanding that the Energy Hog stop, and are rewarded by the Energy
Hog ultimately being chased off. Not only does this excite the student's imaginations, but
empowers them to continue their efforts throughout the school and homes/communities.
This empowerment is key to success. In this session attendees will not only see the benefits of
this one program, but address the larger issue of engaging students in energy
efficiency/conservation and giving them opportunities to be empowered to generate change.
Attendees will hear about success stories in academics including Energy Hog writing and
poster/art competitions, student presentations to peers and key stakeholders about saving energy,
and programs where students were empowered to personally engage in reducing energy waste in
their schools.
*The Energy Hog Program won a Silver Award in the Smart Jobs and Consumer's Category
during Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Energy Smart Communities Initiatives
(ESCI) Awards Ceremony in December, 2015.