Looking for a fun way to teach your kids about the merits of conserving electricity? Check out the cute Power Hog, a pint-size power monitor that introduces kids to energy efficiency by piggybacking upon the familiar format of the piggy bank. Simply plug the hog’s tail into an outlet and feed it a coin to meter out 30 minutes of energy for TV, video games, or other activities. A novel way to associate energy conservation with savings, the Power Hog is just one of fifty great finalists in this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition.
The Power Hog is an ingenious gadget that teaches kids about the cost of electricity while helping parents meter out time spent watching TV. Once a coin has been inserted, the Power Hog lights up and appliances plugged into its snout power up. The hog’s casing will be composed of an upcycled resin made from recycled PET bottles, and it will ship with eco-friendly packaging.
If you like the concept of this cute green gadget, head over to the Greener Gadgets Design Competition and vote for it as your favorite! We’ll be using your votes to shortlist ten projects to head to this year’s Greener Gadgets Conference for an exciting round of live judging and a shot at $5000 in prizes!
5 Responses to “POWER HOG: Piggy Power Monitor Teaches Conservation”
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What a great invention! For kids who are so used to instant gratification through the use of things like computers and video games, the immediacy attached with this product is really perfect.
Whats stopping the kid from just unplugging the pig and plugging his/her t.v in?
Cute, to be sure, but the real thing might be more useful, or lessons from these adopted. See coin operated gas and electric meters:
http://www.icons.org.uk/nom/nominations/coin-operated-domestic-gas-meter-1
http://www.electricmeters.co.uk/
These are more common in the UK.
[...] Power-Hog – Ensina às crianças o custo da eletricidade. Elas colocam moedas no porquinho, que está ligado na TV ou no joguinho. Quando acaba o crédito, ele para de funcionar e desliga tudo. Também ajuda os pais a controlarem o quanto de TV e joguinhos os filhos veem por dia. [...]
I love that! it is so cute and a great idea for kids.
Another thing you can do is play this new game called Powerhouse. http://bit.ly/b1kZAE It’s super fun and allows kids to control their own energy consumption.
My kids love it and they even yell at me when I leave the lights on