EDP, an electrical energy distributor from Espírito Santo, trained 236 educators and supported more than 18 thousand students between July and October last year. The company’s initiatives were part of the Boa Energia nas Escolas (Good Energy in Schools) program, whose main goal is to teach people about safe and efficient energy usage at state schools.

At the initiative addresses electricity safety and efficiency issues, using education activities to teach primary school students. The lab-truck offers students hands-on contact with the issues raised in the classroom. The mobile educational unit offers a series of experiments offering practical experience in several areas, such as protecting natural resources, the different types of energy generation, how to stay safe when flying kites near the power grid and how to make the best use of electrical equipment.

In addition to teaching students, the Good Energy in Schools project helps train educators, using books and other material that can be used in the classroom.

 “When a student is given relevant information, that information is internalized and passed on to other members of the family. The cycle continues well beyond the school gate and has a positive impact on families’ habits”, said Afonso Celso da Silva, EDP executive manager.

In 20-18, three schools were awarded photovoltaic kits capable of producing 4,950 kWh/year for use as a teaching lab and to help reduce the schools’ power consumption.

At the Good Energy in Schoolsproject is part of the company’s Energy Efficiency Program (PEE); it uses the PROCEL Education methodology and is regulated by ANEEL (National Electrical Energy Agency).

Figures from the Good Energy in Schools project in 2018

Inside the truck

At the mobile education unit is a medium-sized, customized truck equipped with a television to show educational videos, virtual reality goggles and it will also offer various experiments involving electricity and a scale model simulating a household’s energy consumption.

Children who visit the unit will be accompanied by a team of uniformed assistants who are trained to convey basic information about electrical energy and the paths it takes to people’s homes, as well as the best way to use electricity safely and avoid waste.

Check out the attractions featured in the lab-truck:

Interactive panel and model home - a panel showing the main rooms and household appliances, simulating energy usage;

360º Virtual Reality goggles and video - the virtual reality goggles allow people to watch an educational video showing the paths electricity takes;

Van der Graff Generator - has a hair-raising effect on anyone who touches the dome while insulated from earth, as their hair becomes electrified with charges of the same polarity, which in turn repel one another;

Plasma Globe - when someone touches the light bulb above the illuminated zone, the whole path between the bulb and the user’s hands will also light up as the person becomes an electrical conductor, drawing the current to their hand;

Nerve Test - the challenge is to complete the course without touching the wire. If the ring touches the wire, the circuit will close and trigger a light and a buzzer;

Manual Generator - student rotate a crank that transforms mechanical energy into electrical energy. The energy produced lights up several LED light bulbs;

Study Group for Solar Energy Transformation - a photovoltaic cell receives solar energy which is then transformed into electrical energy. The energy this produces will spin a colored disc, also known as a Newton disc, which creates a visual effect as it rotates. The disc becomes completely white it spins, which is explained by the visual persistence of our eyes.