Educational videos and a quiz
A series of 5 animated videos introducing topics, such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy security and fusion energy, were published by the Commission in October 2020.
Each video is approximately 1 minute long and address primarily children in the age group of 12-15 years and their teachers. The videos can be watched or downloaded on the Commission’s audio-visual portal
Energy powers everything around us. In the EU, each of us uses a great deal of energy every day.Our electricity is often measured in kilowatt-hours. It is equal to one kilowatt of power sustained for one hour.
For instance, playing video games for 2 hours a day uses roughly 182 kilowatt-hours over a whole year.
Efficiency means getting more for less. If we are efficient with energy, we can enjoy the same levels of comfort or more, while using less!
The EU energy labels offers an easy to use and understand colour-coded system that helps you to identify the energy efficiency of many devices and household appliances.
We can all play our part in protecting the environment and our climate by using greener forms of energy. Like renewable energy – so-called because it is powered by nature and easily renewed.
Renewable energy sources are abundant across Europe.
What are the EU's energy sources?
Over half of the European Union’s energy is imported – mostly as fossil fuels like oil and natural gas, which provide the majority of our energy. Nuclear energy accounts for another 13 % and renewables provide over 15 %.
In fact, renewable energy has become more popular in recent years. And the EU wants this to continue!
What could be the energy of the future?
The sun is our star! It gives us incredible light and heat, thanks to a process called fusion. Can you imagine if we could reproduce this on Earth? It would be the energy of the future!
The EU is involved in an ambitious international project, called ITER, which hopes to do just that.
They are also available on the Commission’s energy’s account on YouTube.
The videos are produced in English, but subtitled versions are available in all the official EU languages, except Irish and Maltese.
Quiz and key
For curious viewers and for teachers who would like to use the material in the classroom, a quiz including 2-3 multiple choice questions per video can be downloaded and printed. A key, providing the correct replies together with some further explanations, is presented as a separate document. The quiz and its key are available in all the above mentioned languages.