Turn on only the necessary lights

Class by class, they went over the lights that were really needed to have a good ilumination and the ones that were unnecessary. The switches that turned on the needed lights were marked with a smiley face stick and the other ones with a sad face.

Remember to turn off the lights

Signs were placed on classroom doors reminding students to turn off lights and electrical appliances (computers, projectors, etc.) when leaving. Posters to raise awareness were posted in the school corridors.

Keeping the benefits in mind

A graph showing monthly electricity bills was posted at the entrance of the school so that students could see how their actions were reducing the bills compared to the same month the previous year.

Increase efficiency and reduce contracted power

• With the money saved by turning off lights, the lamps in the classrooms, gymnasium and pavilion were replaced with low-consumption ones, and lights with motion detectors were installed in hallways and bathrooms.
• These actions significantly reduced the power required. The contracted power and its associated cost were lowered.

Results

With all these measures, after two years the school's annual bill had dropped by  €5,800. Using less electricity is essential to reduce our CO₂ emissions. But, in addition, a lot of money is saved that can be spent on other things. At the IES de Porto do Son, among other things, a games room was created for breaks, ping pong tables were installed, along with a cold water fountain for students to refill their bottles instead of buying plastic water bottles, etc.