Kevin Wood with his electric vehicle outside his home in Hampshire, UK, in March.
Photographer: Alex Atack for Bloomberg GreenGreener Living
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When Kevin Wood’s local utility started offering customers money in exchange for using less electricity, the father of one had a battle on his hands. Wood, who lives in Hampshire in southern England, was keen on realizing savings while alleviating peak energy demand. But some things — like teenagers — are even harder to manage than maxed-out electricity grids.
“We tried saying, ‘Look, let’s not use your Xbox for an hour,’” Wood says. “[It worked] once. But we’ve agreed not to do that again.”