AltEnergy

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Our Inspiration

We were inspired by Duolingo's gamified learning model, with points, streaks, leaderboards, and badges, which made something that was traditionally challenging feel simple, fun, and rewarding. We wanted to bring this same approach to sustainability. Saving energy is something everyone knows they should do, but often, people find it abstract or unmotivating. By turning it into a game with rewards and challenges, people are more likely to stay engaged and make small changes consistently, eventually forming a habit and reducing their carbon footprint. Just like Duolingo rewards you for practicing daily, AltEnergy rewards you for saving energy every day, because over time, those little actions create a big impact.

What it does

AltEnergy helps individuals and businesses save energy daily by tracking their energy consumption and cutting down their carbon footprint. This is done through daily energy-saving tips powered by AI, a points system for users where they earn points for a certain amount of energy saved, and exchange those in the green marketplace for sustainable products, and a community impact model, since these small individual changes will add up and have big results the more people take part. By making sustainability easy, engaging, and rewarding, AltEnergy bridges the gap between wanting to be sustainable and actually making that difference.

How we built this

We started by mapping out the core problem: that people want to make a change and contribute to sustainability and the betterment of our planet, but lack the motivation and clarity. From there, we designed our system with inspiration from Duolingo, Knowt, and Quizlet, and many more gamified models, including points, streaks, and rewards, similar to these successful apps. We created mockups of the app interface to show how tracking and rewards would work and used basic prototypes to simulate how users earn points from energy-saving actions, and finally, we connected these ideas to a green marketplace, where points can be exchanged for eco-friendly products.

Challenges we ran into

One of our main challenges was the time constraint, as we only had a week to prepare and learn the skills necessary, and combining ideas from design, sustainability, and tech into one clear product took time. We were also challenged by the technical feasibility and deciding how to track energy consumption and use accurately, without compromising user simplicity, engagement, and focus on the environmental impact. A lot of the research we did also brought us to many unspecific, relatively outdated studies, so it was hard to weigh out whether or not we were on the right track with this product.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are extremely proud to have built a working concept and prototype in such a limited time, and something that will make sustainability accessible, easy, and fun. We have created a solution that further aligns with the UN SDGs and one that will be able to show individuals, businesses, and communities how we can reduce our carbon footprint together.

What we learned

Through our primary research in surveys with peers, whether it was at school, at home, or out with friends, 82% of people do not take active steps towards sustainability. This was further backed up by our secondary research, which revealed that every year, the average household energy usage increases, as does wastage. From this, to make a useful and effective tool in people’s lives, we realized that sustainability needs engagement. Tech alone isn’t enough as people need motivation, so that led us to learned both from first-hand experience and further data that gamification works extremely effectively. Points, streaks, and challenges really motivate behavior and habitual changes. However, this must be balanced with simplicity. People tend to stick with solutions that feel natural, intuitive, and rewarding. Through working in a team, we also recognized the power of collaboration. We learned how to use Figma, wireframing, and prototyping using mockups for the first time, and without our strong dedication and communication, this would not have been possible.

What's next for AltEnergy?

In the future, we hope to develop IoT integration for real-time energy tracking, partner with eco-friendly brands to expand our green marketplace, launch community and business challenges to scale collective impact, and pilot our app in school offices and local communities to test real-world results. Most importantly, we aim to make a change and turn sustainability into a daily habit that you look forward to, for individuals, businesses, and entire communities.

Built With

• canva
• figma