Croatia: Modern energy in households

Description of the activity

The main aim of “Modern energy in households” Lighthouse activity is for participants to:

• Learn (or revise their knowledge) about basic concepts about power systems.
• Get introduced to different electricity tariff model existing in Croatia, and to consider benefits of those models for a household.
• Learn about the necessity to balance power production and consumption.
• In DRLAB (energy demand response laboratory) explore power consumption of different devices.
• Explore the benefits and costs of household solar system through solar calculator web application developed by FER.
• Consider the role of energy for everyday life of an individual, and importance of responsible power consumption.

The activity covers primarily topics of environment/green deal, but also includes topic of digitalization. Participants were challenged with different problems requiring computation and basic concepts from physics.

The course of the activity: participants first go through a short introduction of DRLab, the purpose of the lab, and how can they use it. DRLab is a room with a great number of kitchen and other household devices (e.g., oven, microwave oven, coffee machine, water heater, washing machine, dryer, hoover, light system, floor heating system), it also contains a display on which the
electricity consumption of each individual device is recorded. After the introduction, participants are familiarized with (or repeat their knowledge about) basic concepts regarding power and power systems (e.g., electricity, voltage, appropriate measurement units, existing tariff models). Next, participants are engaged in problem solving of the first three tasks from the lesson sheet (Appendix 1). Problems are being solved independently, or in cooperation with other participants, and if necessary, the help can be requested from the activity leader. After checking the accuracy of solutions, activity continues with the Task 4 (Appendix 1), i.e., consumption analysis of live measured electrical devices from DRLab. In this activity different devices are being switched on, while their consumption has been monitored on the display. Before each experiment participants are asked to try and estimate the consumption for each device. With a real data obtained, participants are calculating total electricity consumption and the cost of electricity (e.g., for baking a strudel). The Lighthouse activity ends with the Task 5 (Appendix 1), i.e., with solar calculator demonstration. The web application (https://fnelektrane.pythonanywhere.com/) for calculations linked to solar power plants within the self-supply model, is demonstrated to the participants. The participants research the potential consumption or production of solar energy for a household located, e.g., in the SplitDalmatia County, monitor the costs and discover at what point the investment would be returned. The experiment is repeated with different settings and the results are compared.

Description of implementation process

This activity was collaboratively designed between the Department of Energy and Power Systems of Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, and Croatian Mathematics Society. The activity was conducted in the DRLab located in the building of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, in duration of 90 minutes.

The main leader of the activity was M. Eng. Luka Budin, a member of Department of Energy and Power Systems. His role was to introduce participants with DRLab and coordinate their activities in process of solving the lesson sheet. Additional help with organization, coordination, logistics, some help with baking a strudel, and with motivation participants to active collaboration, was provided by Petra Vidovic (HMD), Renata Svedrec (HMD) and Matea Dvoršćak (PMF).

There were 32 active participants of the Lighthouse activity. Most of the participants were 13- or 14-years old, accompanied with one physics teacher. The participants had an active role in the activity. They were encouraged to pose questions, and many questions were posed, e.g., “what is the definition of direct current?”, “how can we know what the system voltage is?”, “will a
larger investment (solar panels) give a faster return on investment?”. Since activity was organized in a series of heuristic conversations, with prompting questions such as: “what is the relationship between electricity consumption and its original price?”, “which we need to calculate the consumption and cost of electricity?”, “why using kJ is not convenient for displaying electricity consumption, why do we use kWh?”, “what do you think, when will the air
conditioner have a higher consumption? If we heat in winter or summer? If we cool in winter or summer?”, participants are stimulated to be active and use their reasoning and justifying skills.

Final remarks

The power system paradigm has shifted over the last decade, requiring consumers to adopt more responsible electricity usage. Demand response, which involves shifting or reducing electricity consumption when necessary, is now essential. Educating young people about efficient electricity use—both in their households and in broader economic contexts—is crucial.

The Modern Energy in Households lighthouse initiative contributes significantly to this goal. The collaboration between HMD and FER has been highly productive, with the Department of Energy and Power Systems playing a key role in designing and refining the activity.

To enhance the initiative, limiting group sizes to approximately 20 participants would optimize engagement and space utilization in the DRLab. Extending the activity’s duration would also be beneficial, allowing for deeper discussions and a more comprehensive understanding of responsible energy use. A structured concluding discussion would further reinforce key insights.

This initiative is a well-designed, impactful approach to fostering responsible electricity consumption and should be continued.