FAQs
How do I install the items in my kit?
For help with installing kit items, check out the installation help videos here.
Are there copies of installation instructions in languages besides English?
Download a copy of the Installation Instructions that are inside your kit in English and Spanish.
How do I submit my Home Energy Worksheet?
- Submit your answers at the online portal.
- Click here to find your teacher’s ID number and to submit answers.
Teachers: Need more Home Energy Worksheet Scan Forms?
Check the emails from your scheduler for a link to your personalized Home Energy Worksheet with your Teacher ID printed on it.
How do students earn their incentive?
By submitting online the Home Energy Worksheet before the deadline.
Why should we install LED bulbs?
LEDs use significantly less energy than traditional light bulbs (75-90% less). If every American home replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified LED, we would save enough energy to light 2 million homes for a year, more than $460 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 550,000 cars.
LED bulbs are more efficient than the equivalent CFL bulbs. LED bulbs also do not contain mercury and are safe to dispose of in the trash when they need to be replaced. LED bulbs may also be recycled. Check lamprecycle.org for more information on recycling LEDs and CFLs in your community.
The useful life of LED lighting products is defined differently than that of other light sources, such as incandescent or CFL. This is because LEDs typically do not “burn out” or fail. Instead, they experience lumen depreciation, where the amount of light produced decreases and light color appearance can shift over time. Instead of basing the useful life of an LED product on the time it takes for 50 percent of a large group of lamps to burn out (as is the case with traditional sources), LED product “lifetime” is set based on a prediction of when the light output decreases 30 percent.
An ENERGY STAR certified LED bulb the ones in your Innovation Kit can last about 22 years – that means a bulb installed in a newborn’s nursery won’t have to be changed until he or she graduates from college!
Information Source: ENERGY STAR, energystar.gov, accessed July 2023.