Whether at home or in the classroom, here are some easy, practical ways to reduce energy use and teach kids the importance of sustainability 🌱
Energy Saving Week 2025 from the Energy Saving Trust falls on the week of the 20th-26th of January, aiming to raise awareness of the importance of energy efficiency and understanding what steps we can take to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions in our homes.
This week is the perfect time to pause and consider how we use energy at home and in the classroom, an opportunity to save money, protect the environment, and teach children the importance of sustainability. To kick you off, we have compiled some of our favourite resources to help all of us take those small but mightly steps to move to a greener, more sustainable future.
3 top tips on Energy Saving and sustainability around the home:
Saving water
A study by Water UK told us that, on average, an individual in the UK uses 142 litres of water daily; out of that, a third of the water is wasted. One way to save water and energy is by not washing clothes after one wear, for example, school uniform items like blazers, jumpers, skirts, and trousers don’t need to be washed every day unless they’re totally covered in mud.
They are long life clothing, so the less you wash it, the more it will preserve the life of the clothing and keep the quality high for the next owner who might buy it pre-loved.
We can reduce water waste by encouraging kids to take shorter showers and turn off taps while brushing their teeth. Hot water can also be turned off when not in use to save on heating costs and using the dishwasher instead of washing all our dishes helps save on energy; by loading up the dishwasher and running it when it is full, we save a lot of water.
Lights
By making sure we remind our children of the importance of switching off lights when they are not in use or encouraging them not to turn on lights when it is still daylight, we step closer to having a more energy-efficient household. A study by 100Green found that the amount of energy wasted in the UK by leaving lights on could power around 125,856 homes for a year. By encouraging kids to switch off lights when not in use we can help cut costs on our energy bills and lessen the impact of this wasted energy on our environment.
Switching off appliances
By reminding kids to switch off devices such as chargers and TVs (rather than leaving them on standby), we can reduce the amount of energy wasted around the home. A study done by Green Match found that 23% of your electricity is going to waste on ‘vampire devices’, these are devices that are left on standby or left plugged in when not in use. By turning all appliances off when they are not in use, we could save on this energy wastage and reduce our electricity bills by a significant amount. There are off-peak hours for energy which run from 10pm-8am (but you can double check with your energy supplier as these may vary based on who you are with), we could try and run high energy appliances like washing machines and tumble driers during this time. Although off-peak hours are at awkward times (we know doing the washing at 10pm is unrealistic for a lot of people), but, if you can do stuff at this time it would help to reduce your energy bills.
Free resources to help educate children on energy saving:
These resources can be used at home or at school to teach kids the small steps they could take to reduce energy wastage and live more sustainably.
Eon Energy- getting the kids involved in saving energy:
- This blog by Eon gives some great tips for parents to use at home, making learning about energy saving more interactive and fun for the kids.
- Although it is from 2020, the relevance of the activities still stands, they are great resources that could be used annually to remind us of the importance of Energy Saving Week.
- They have included games such as ‘turn it off’ to keep things playful and educational. It can be played daily to get kids into the correct habits around the house.
Twinkl- Energy-saving resources:
- Twinkl have a great the variety of resources that they provide. Although a sign-up is necessary, they have an offer for new members, which is 30 days of free unlimited downloads. Access may be worth it as they have many useful resources on the website.
- They have fun games such as the word search, a bingo game and educational worksheets.
- These resources are aimed at children in KS1; there are a variety of resource packs, including lesson plans, posters, and PowerPoints.
Energy Sparks- Energy saving activities:
- Energy Sparks has access to 148 FREE resources and activities for a range of ages, from KS1 through to KS5. This range makes this website perfect for teachers in primary and secondary school.
- They have included some fun crafting ideas for the younger children and scavenger hunt ideas to use around the house, identifying what objects use a lot of energy.
- The site is perfect for use at school, but the activities that it includes could also be used for at-home learning.
Energy Saving Trust- Energy- Saving Challenge:
- The Energy Saving Trust has created a challenge aimed at 11-15-year-olds.
- They have included 5 lessons PowerPoints, a teaching handbook and energy-saving worksheets which are easy- downloadable sheets and all free to access.
- The aim is by the end of the challenge, children will have a clear action plan on how they can take their learning and apply it to their homes to reduce energy waste and live sustainably.
At Uniformd, we are all about leading the kids to a more sustainable future, and the resources linked are a great way to start the kids on an energy-saving journey. Whether turning off lights, educating on sustainable practices in the classroom, donating, buying and selling pre-loved school uniform or simply talking about reducing energy consumption at home, every path brings us one step closer to a better planet.
