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Energy diaries

Discover how much electricity you really use every day. How could you reduce the amount?

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You’ll need

  • A4 paper
  • Coloured pens or pencils
  • A mix of objects, some that use batteries, electricity and some that do not.
Energy Diaries Energy Diary
PDF – 59.7KB
Download Energy Diaries Energy Diary

Before you begin 

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Additional help to carry out your risk assessment, including examples can be found here. Don’t forget to make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely. 
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers. 

 Planning this activity

  • This activity will run over two sessions. 
  • You may want to mention to parents and carers that you'll be running this activity and that involves recording electricity usage at home. If people can't record their energy usage at home, they could do it for their school day.

Setting up this activity 

  • You'll need to gather lots of common household items. Try to include things that use battery and electricity. You could include items that generate it themselves (such as a wind up torch), as well as some things that use electricity now but didn’t in the past (such as a hand whisk or salt and pepper shakers).
  • Place a number of objects in the middle of the circle before the session starts.
  • Make sure to have lots of printed copies of the Energy Diaries.

Session 1: Think about electricity

  1. Gather everyone in a circle and explain you're going to think about your electricity usage.
  2. Separate the battery powered objects for the next part. 
  3. As a group, discuss the objects. You could go through and name each one, as well as what it's used for.
  4. Ask people what the differences are between them and if they would rather use a newer, electric version, instead of hand powered ones.
  5. Ask people why they think humans used these objects in the past. Can they think of any more examples?
  6. As a group, chat about where and how they use electricity throughout the day. They should think about when they’re at home, when they’re at school, as well as when they’re out and about.
  7. Ask people to think about whether they could live in the same way without electricity. Is electricity essential and something they couldn’t live without?

Session 1: Think about battery Life 

  1. As a group, discuss the battery powered objects. You could go through and name each one, as well as what it's used for.
  2. Ask people why they think humans used these objects in the past. Can they think of any more examples of battery powered items.
  3. How many battery-powered items they use in a day?
  4. Which items could use rechargeable batteries instead?
  5. Which items could be powered by plug-in electricity instead?
  6. When batteries are the best or only option (e.g., camping)
  7. Ask them to estimate how often batteries are changed at home and in which devices.
  8. Can they think of  a reason why some devices need change of batteries often, is it to do with the types of battery or how much the device is used or combination of both?
  9. Ask people what the differences are between them and if they would rather use an electric version or battery battery powered ones.
  • Batteries store energy chemically, while mains electricity is supplied continuously through power stations and cables.
  • Batteries are portable, which is why we use them in torches, remote controls, and camping equipment.
  • Rechargeable batteries can be reused hundreds of times, reducing waste.
  • Long-life and better quality  batteries reduce waste as they last longer. 
  • Batteries are useful during power cuts or outdoor activities where mains electricity isn’t available.
  • When batteries are recycled, they are made back into more batteries.

Session 1: Introduce the energy diaries

  1. Give everyone an ‘Energy diary’ sheet.
  2. Everyone should take their ‘Energy diary’ sheets home. 
  3. Before the next meeting, everyone should choose a day to fill the boxes in for. They should count how many minutes they used electricity for each thing and how many times they did each action.
  4. If people can't record this at home, they could do it for their school day.
  5. If anyone’s away, you could share the diary with parents or carers however they usually communicate, such as via email or WhatsApp.
  • Store batteries safely in a cool, dry place to make them last longer.
  • Always recycle used batteries at a proper collection point, never put them in the bin.
  • Don’t mix old and new batteries in the same device, it makes them run out faster.

Session 2: Chat about the diaries the following week

  1. Everyone should bring their completed diaries to the next meeting.
  2. Anyone who’s forgotten or couldn't bring their diary should pair up with a friend who has theirs. They should try to remember what they can, as they might have remembered a few things that surprised them.
  3. You may want to do a version as volunteers from your own usage and make a few copies. You can then have this available for anyone who needs to look at a version of an energy diary.
  4. If they want to, some people could share their diaries with the group and read them out. You could also put all the diaries on a table for people to walk round and look at if everyone's happy and comfortable with this. 
  5. Ask everyone to think if there's anything similar or surprising when compared to their own diary.
  6. Ask if anyone had forgotten to include something that they used, but someone else's diary included it. For example, leaving a lamp switched on while in a room.
  7. Ask if the diaries made anyone want to change how they do things to reduce their energy usage.

Session 2: Reducing electricity usage

  1. Ask everyone to use their diaries to help them think of five ways that they could reduce the amount of energy they use. You could use UK Power Network’s Being energy smart video to help you think of ideas.
  2. Give everyone some plain paper and pens or pencils.
  3. Everyone should make a poster with their five ways of reducing electricity. They should design something to display at their home or school to remind people how they can use less energy.
  4. Everyone should choose five other people they’d like to share their tips with.
  5. They could think about people they live with (for example, siblings) or other people they spend time with like friends at school.
  • Remove batteries from devices if you won’t use them for a long time.
  • Turn devices off properly to save battery power.
  • Buy the right size and type for your device to avoid waste.

Reflection

This activity was about being responsible and doing your best and trying to do the right thing. Who was surprised by their energy use? Did anyone use gas or battery-powered devices as well as electricity? How many devices at home or in your meeting place use batteries each day?

Why is it important to use less energy? Even if one person’s actions feel small, how can saving electricity, using fewer disposable batteries, choosing rechargeable batteries, and recycling used batteries make a difference?

This activity was also about helping the community. How does using less electricity and using batteries carefully, making them last longer and recycling them properly,  help the environment? Batteries use materials and energy to make, so reducing waste matters.

How could you remind others at home, school, or your meeting place to switch off devices, check batteries, and recycle old ones?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Music and films

Make sure music and films are age appropriate for the youngest person present.

  • It’s OK for people to round their times up or down if it’s too tricky to count the exact seconds and minutes.
  • If people find it simple to come up with five ways to reduce energy, they should think about other situations. For example, what about when they’re on holiday? What about at school? What could an adult in a specific job do, for example, someone who works in an office or someone who’s a teacher?

Make it accessible

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts Environmental Conservation Activity Badge
Cubs Environmental Conservation Activity Badge
Cubs Global Issues Activity Badge

If you enjoyed this activity, try some of our other activities sponsored by Varta