Bright Ideas Grants Foster Success for Students and Teachers

By Elizabeth Babcock

When I first learned about the funding opportunities made possible by North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives’ Bright Ideas education grant program, I wanted to improve our school’s computer lab by purchasing software and online subscriptions that would enhance instruction and support classroom teachers. Funding provided through the program over the years has done that, and so much more. The grant program has been a blessing for our entire school.

Bright Ideas grants funded a project that helped us procure some of the first eBooks in our rural school. Our computer lab has become a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lab. We now have technology-based learning that goes beyond online games and documents to the ability to create 2D drawings and turn those into 3D prints so students have an actual model to hold, use and share with others.

Bright Ideas grants have helped us fund a variety of other meaningful, hands-on projects. Many of these projects started small, and the grant program has allowed us to build on what we started with so that we can continue to add on to, edit, revise and improve project expectations and reach more students each year. Programmable robots, for example, have been used for countless engaging activities to provide learning opportunities in all subject areas. Students have used these robots for launches, obstacle courses, moving objects, making music, recording messages, creating characters, dancing — and, of course, for fun!

Engineering kits have also been funded by Bright Ideas grants. These are some of our students’ most treasured projects. Students build a crawling robot from scratch, and they are able to make changes to improve the robot design. Students race others and are challenged to see how they can make them the fastest. They also have a weight challenge, where students solve problems to see how much weight they can get their robot to pull. And through the drawbot project, we learn about artists like Jackson Pollock, and students design a robot that mimics the style of that artist.

Bright Ideas also funded several projects from Osmo that have changed our school. Osmo kits make iPads even more interactive with reflective pieces and stands. There are dozens of interactive apps and activities that cover concepts in all areas of our kindergarten through fifth grade curriculum. (Osmos are also a parent night favorite, and some of the teachers love the Words games so much that we catch them playing with them during breaks!)

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Osmo project is the difference it’s made for one particular student. She struggled to make connections and engage in her regular classroom setting, but with the support of Osmo, she is now able to connect and learn in her classroom.

Our goal with our students is to motivate and encourage them to be successful and productive members of society who think critically and solve problems. Like hundreds of schools across the state, we couldn’t do this without the support of the Bright Ideas education grant program.

Co-op Programs Help Members Save Energy

As member-owned, not-for-profit utilities, keeping costs low for members is a priority for North Carolina’s electric cooperatives and their boards of directors. Helping members use energy more efficiently is one way co-ops across the state are achieving this, using a range of resources including home energy audits, energy use data and, in some cases, energy efficiency loan programs.

“Using less energy in your own home is one way to immediately reduce costs,” said Chris Powell, coordinator of public relations for Albemarle EMC.

Energy audits

Powell conducts 75 to 100 free energy audits a year for Albemarle EMC members, typically following unusually high bills. During an audit, Powell inspects the house with an eye for how it’s using energy. He starts by checking the heating and cooling system, going straight to the thermostat.

“The heating and air system is a home’s largest user of energy, typically followed by the water heater,” Powell explains. “We encounter a lot of heat pumps that are underperforming or are just running on backup heat.”

Following an audit, Powell provides members with a report listing his findings, along with recommended fixes, including if an appliance needs to be serviced.

Energy use tracker

Another tool available to co-op members is energy use data. Member service representatives can typically access it, and it is often available for members to explore online. Using graphs, a home’s energy use can be compared with high and low temperatures over the course of a day or month. In many cases, any energy use anomalies will stand out, especially to a trained eye.

“Looking for that correlation between temperature and usage is the first step in diagnosing a problem,” said Jon Jacob, energy solutions manager for Blue Ridge Energy. His co-op’s Usage Tracker tool shows members daily home energy use data, along with daily temperatures. “Heating and cooling systems are often the reason for higher than usual bills, but in some cases devices like water heaters or well pumps may be running constantly due to an otherwise unseen issue.”

Even a leaky faucet or damaged pipe can create problems, causing a well pump to run constantly. If data show a steady source of unknown use, Jacob can test things out with a member. They can find the breaker for the well pump, for example, turn it off, and see what energy use looks like the next day.

Data can also be used to set high use alerts, or for tracking energy use for members using a pay-as-you-go prepaid energy feature.

Energy efficiency loans

Although not all electric co-ops offer energy efficiency loan programs, some use the tool to help members improve their home’s energy use. Roanoke Cooperative, for example, makes cost effective upgrades to member-owners’ dwellings with little to no upfront costs through its Upgrade to Save program — costs are repaid over time on monthly electric bills. The co-op works with certified contractors and quality control inspectors while overseeing projects to ensure improvements are installed correctly.

To date, more than 1,700 member-owners have participated in the program with average savings of more than $70 per month. In addition, its Roanoke SolarShare program provides health and safety repairs to economically disadvantaged member-owners. Health and safety upgrades made through the program total more than $160,000 in grant funds.

“I believe that Upgrade to Save is one of the most important programs at Roanoke Cooperative,” said Roanoke Cooperative Coordinator of Community Development Susan Williams. “It provides much-needed energy efficiency upgrades to member-owners that may not be able to afford them otherwise.”

— Scott Gates, Carolina Country staff

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