John Platt, September 10, 2009
Want a fun way to get your kids to help you save energy? Play a game about energy conservation with your kids, and then pay them when your bills go down!
How does this work, you ask? Simple -- visit Energy Circle's Moolah Maker online game. Sign up, then log in your last 12 months worth of energy bills. As each new month passes, you'll be able to see how this year's usage compares to last year's. The site will calculate how much energy you've saved and how much money you've avoided spending, and then offer a reward to your kids.
It's not a passive experience. The game provides a great list of energy-saving tips that can help make the whole process both fun and educational. It also encourages you to enter in each month's energy bills when you're all together, turning it into a shared experience for the whole family.
Chances are your kids are already eco-motivated, if just because they're kids. But this gives them a chance to see that their actions (and yours) can have a real impact, and put some cold, hard cash in their hands in the process.
While you're at the Energy Circle web site, look around. The site is chock-full of great, informative content about saving energy, and is itself a good source for energy-saving products.
Give it a try. Your kids (and the planet) could thank you for it!