When our utility bills became almost too much for the family budget to bear, my wife and I laid down the law. We had witnessed all of our children at one time or another leaving the refrigerator door open, allowing light bulbs to burn all night long and otherwise being negligent about electrical use. But rather than playing hardball with them, I felt we should turn energy efficiency into an incentivized game.
Studying our electrical and heating bills, I came up with a practical target number to aim for in the next month. Then I explained the rules of the game to my three kids: If we managed to lower the bills by a given amount, everyone would be treated to a nice dinner at their favorite pizza place. I also challenged the kids to do some research into ways we could save money on heat and electricity – from ideas about home solar energy to wind turbine construction.