RICHES throughENERGY EFFICIENCY

a family game

1. Brainstorm some rewards your kids will want.

(For example: Trip to the ice cream

store, family game night, etc.)

2. Cut out achievement cards (see inside this sheet) and write rewards on them.

3. Explain to the kids that you’re sending them on a scavenger hunt for opportunities to save energy. How-ever much money they can save the family over the next year, you’ll buy them something worth that much. Show them the achievements, too.

4. Help out with the scavenger hunt. They may need help with math and electrical safety.

5. Add up the savings!

The number you want to figure out

for each appliance is how many

kilowatt-hours it uses per year. Use

this formula:

(Wattage × Hours Used Per Day) ÷

1000 × Days Used Per Year = Yearly

Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption

If your appliance lists amps instead

of watts, multiply the amps by 120 to

get the watts.

6. Award achievements. (Put them up on the fridge.) Help the kids decide how to spend their windfall, and make the purchase with them.

7. Decide how you’ll spend the same amount of money on yourself next year…

ACHIEVEMENT

Sensor Sweep

Figure out the yearly energy draw of five (5) appliances in your home.

REWARD: __________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

Awarded to: ________________________

ACHIEVEMENT

Sleuth

Find 3 appliances that still use power, even when they’re turned off.

REWARD: __________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

Awarded to: ________________________

ACHIEVEMENT

Energy Hacker

Change the settings on your com-puter so it uses less energy.

REWARD: __________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

Awarded to: ________________________

ACHIEVEMENT

Thermal Engineer

Find your hot water heater and lower the thermostat to 120° F.

REWARD: __________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

Awarded to: ________________________

ACHIEVEMENT

Junior Electrician

Replace a traditional (incan-descent) bulb with a CFL bulb.

REWARD: __________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

Awarded to: ________________________

ACHIEVEMENT

Senior Electrician

Replace five (5) traditional bulbs with CFL bulbs.

REWARD: __________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

Awarded to: ________________________

ACHIEVEMENT

Photon Scavenger

Get rid of a lamp you can replace with sunlight.

REWARD: __________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

Awarded to: ________________________

ACHIEVEMENT

Toasty

Buy a space heater for your room and use it instead of centralized heating.

REWARD: __________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

Awarded to: ________________________