Families Compete to Save Energy in "Energy Smackdown"

Energy Smackdown family scorecard.

Three families in Medford, Massachusetts, recently competed to shrink their carbon footprint on a reality TV show, "Energy Smackdown." Each family reduced its footprint by at least 30%, and in some surprisingly simple ways. All three teams found that reducing their footprint wasn't as hard as they had imagined it would be.

Donald Kelley, producer of "Energy Smackdown" for TV3 Medford, tapped into research on the role peer pressure plays in making ecological choices. According to a recent American Psychological Association study, people are more likely to make green choices if they think others are too. "Social incentives are often more effective than economic incentives in spurring people to change their behavior," Karen Ehrhardt-Martinez of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy told The Christian Science Monitor.

The competition began in March 2007 with a baseline assessment of each family's energy use, which involved plugging their lifestyle numbers (electricity use, travel, gas use and garbage generation) into a CO2 emissions calculator.

At the start, Team van der Nou produced 10,216 pounds of CO2 per person per year, followed by Team Cluggish (18,692 pounds) and Team Moot Roosa (26,733 pounds). The U.S. average is 15,000 pounds per person.

The most eco-conscious family, Team van der Nou, used an energy auditor from their utility to come up with energy-saving ideas, including closing the fireplace flue to prevent air from leaking and turning down the heat in their home to 58º F in the winter. Their energy company also donated a power-cost monitor, a small easy-to-use device that is wirelessly connected to their electric meter.

The more consumptive Team Moot Roosa discovered composting and carpooling, installed compact fluorescent light bulbs and used power strips to combat "phantom" energy use. Team Cluggish got rid of a 30-year-old upright freezer in their basement, which represented almost 30% of the household’s electricity use. They also installed insulation using a rebate from their utility that reduced the cost from $14,000 to $2,000.

In the end, the Cluggish family decreased its carbon footprint by 63% (to 6,850 pounds per person annually), the highest percentage cut of all the families. However, Team van der Nou won the overall Smackdown title thanks to the final competition, the community challenge, which required the teams to get their friends to save as much energy as possible. Team van der Nou bought 176 CFLs and gave them to friends, reducing their carbon footprint per person by 96%.