The Green Living Guy

Talk Energy gamification industry! For the world of energy efficiency is continuously evolving. Moreover one innovative approach gaining popularity is energy gamification on industry. Energy Gamification, a term on the industry that’s still so new. It’s so new that autocorrect often wants to change it to “ramification”.  For it refers to the strategy of transforming real-world activities. Especially into games to make people more likely to participate. This article will also explore the concept of energy efficiency gamification. Aka the energy gamification industry. Moreover they will highlight some ingenious strategies. Especially that have led to significant savings.

The Rise of Energy Efficiency Gamification

Gamification in energy efficiency has become an effective tool for engaging participants. Moreover and promoting sustainable behavior change. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released a report on Gamified Energy Efficiency Programs. Those which surveyed 53 games and apps from the US. Especially and around the world to determine their effectiveness in saving energy.

The report found that winners of various energy-saving games achieved remarkable reductions. For that’s such as:

  1. The Energy Rockstars of Bellevue, Washington (94% reduction)
  2. A San Diego family that won the city’s Biggest Energy Saver title (46% reduction)
  3. The winner of Brooklyn’s Reduce the Use (49% reduction)
  4. The winning multifamily building in the Chicago Neighborhood Energy Challenge (34% reduction across electricity, gas, and water usage)

Energy gamification industry gone efficiency
Image Source: FreeImages

These impressive results prove that gamification can encourage. Especially large-scale plus sustainable savings. All most importantly through behavioral change.

Impactful Energy-Saving Competitions

Energy efficiency gamification has produced some unique and impactful competitions. For example, the Be an Energy Rockstar contest. For they were sponsored by Puget Sound Energy. I mean that included and challenged participants. Especially to reduce their energy consumption as much as possible. One family in Bellevue, Washington, managed to reduce their energy consumption by a staggering 94%. I mean in just one month. Thereby winning a $7,500 Lowe’s gift card.

Students at Minnesota’s Carleton College took energy-saving measures to the extreme during their winter campus competition. Thereby camping outside for the entire duration of the contest. So so funny.

The Ugliest Lighting Contest

In another example, the city of Palo Alto orchestrated the Ugliest Lighting Contest. The competition encouraged citizens to submit photos of their most unattractive incandescent or halogen lighting fixtures, with the winner receiving $400 toward an LED upgrade.

This contest not only raised awareness about energy-efficient lighting but also introduced participants to the city’s numerous rebate programs for other efficiency upgrades, such as appliances and solar panels. The Ugliest Lighting Contest serves as an excellent example of how gamification can be a quirky and clever strategy for promoting energy efficiency.

Long-Term Impact of Energy Efficiency Gamification

While short-term energy-saving strategies can be impactful, the real goal of gamification is to achieve long-lasting, sustainable savings through behavioral change. The ACEEE report found that nine of the studied games compiled overall energy savings data, indicating that savings of 3-6% are attainable among large groups. In smaller-scale, tightly targeted programs, potential savings of 10% can be achieved.

Some games even focus on more permanent measures, such as appliance upgrades, to ensure long-term energy savings.

Ingenious Strategies in Gamification

The most successful energy efficiency games and apps employ creative strategies to motivate participants to reduce their energy use. These strategies include:

  1. Social comparisons: By allowing users to compare their energy usage with that of their neighbors or friends, apps can tap into people’s competitive nature to encourage energy-saving behavior.
  2. Goal-setting: Setting energy-saving targets can give participants a clear objective to work toward, increasing their motivation to save energy.
  3. Rewards and incentives: Offering prizes, discounts, or other incentives can further motivate participants to adopt energy-efficient behaviors.

Conclusion

Energy efficiency gamification has proven to be an effective tool in promoting sustainable behavior change and significant energy savings. By using creative strategies such as competitions, social comparisons, goal-setting, and rewards, gamification can motivate individuals to reduce their energy consumption and adopt more permanent, energy-efficient measures.

As the world moves toward a more sustainable future, the potential of energy efficiency gamification to inspire lasting change is an exciting and promising prospect.

To continue reading this blog post, visit: http://aceee.org/blog/2015/02/energy-efficiency-gamification-chicke

To read the report, visit: http://aceee.org/research-report/b1501

Source: ACEEE: The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

One Response

  1. I couldn’t agree more on how small behavioral changes can make such a huge impact. I work in manufacturing and it’s crazy how much money we spend on things that simply don’t get turned off. I even made a small checklist for kids to turn stuff off in the house. It’s simple, but man it makes a difference!

%d bloggers like this: