+ Germany's Energy Education at the Mall
There have been more and more efforts here in the US aimed at making people aware of ways to increase their energy efficiency, saving consumer's money and lowering their carbon footprint in the process. Most efforts have been through in store kiosks (ex. light bulb demos), short television ads, newspaper/internet articles and company web pages.
I was recently visiting Darmstadt, Germany, walking with friends around one of the large shopping areas and got to see an impressive educational effort by Deutsche Energie-Agentur; the German Energy Agency (DENA).
We saw two large areas with all kinds of interactive displays and trivia-style games on a variety of energy topics, testing your knowledge and giving you a little in return.
One display area was smaller, with displays requiring no power. The other was a much larger one, powered displays including a computer for questions, and even an information desk with an attendant. Now that's impressive - a live person ready to answer your questions and create a real dialog about how you can save energy. I've got to brush up on my German to get that far, though!
Many of the kiosks seemed to repeat similar information, but in a slightly different form. One display asked the viewer which appliance they thought required the most energy over a year's time. Another, showed a variety of appliances that are regularly plugged into power strips even when not in use. When you flip the switch, the display told you how much that appliance would cost you, per year (in Euros of course). Though the information was similar, it was clear they had considered differences in how people will respond to the information, and selected methods that caused people to consider their own situation.
They also had plenty of eye-catching and educational handouts and takeaways for those people on the run. All of the handouts led readers to their web site to learn more.
Overall, it was refreshing to see how another country was educating its citizens about this global problem.
I was recently visiting Darmstadt, Germany, walking with friends around one of the large shopping areas and got to see an impressive educational effort by Deutsche Energie-Agentur; the German Energy Agency (DENA).
We saw two large areas with all kinds of interactive displays and trivia-style games on a variety of energy topics, testing your knowledge and giving you a little in return.
One display area was smaller, with displays requiring no power. The other was a much larger one, powered displays including a computer for questions, and even an information desk with an attendant. Now that's impressive - a live person ready to answer your questions and create a real dialog about how you can save energy. I've got to brush up on my German to get that far, though!
Many of the kiosks seemed to repeat similar information, but in a slightly different form. One display asked the viewer which appliance they thought required the most energy over a year's time. Another, showed a variety of appliances that are regularly plugged into power strips even when not in use. When you flip the switch, the display told you how much that appliance would cost you, per year (in Euros of course). Though the information was similar, it was clear they had considered differences in how people will respond to the information, and selected methods that caused people to consider their own situation.
They also had plenty of eye-catching and educational handouts and takeaways for those people on the run. All of the handouts led readers to their web site to learn more.
Overall, it was refreshing to see how another country was educating its citizens about this global problem.
Labels: Education, electricity, Energy, international
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posted by Chris Heckman on Thursday, August 21, 2008
