How do they compare?
In Electrify, you make decisions for a utility and live with the results. In En-ROADS, you adjust policies and assumptions to compare possible futures. Here are the main differences.
| Compare | Electrify | En-ROADS |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | A utility in a selected location, with simplified neighboring electricity markets. | The global energy, economy, land, and climate systems. |
| Your decisions | Build generators and storage, set electricity prices, manage debt, and respond to events. | Change carbon pricing, energy supply, electrification, land use, and other climate policies. |
| What you watch | Supply and demand, blackouts, cash, costs, and greenhouse gas emissions. | Global temperature, emissions, energy mix and prices, and climate impacts. |
| Time | Play through years using 15-minute steps on one representative day per month. | Explore global scenarios through 2100 and compare long-term trends. |
| Learning format | A tycoon game with tutorials, scenario challenges, and custom games. | Interactive scenario exploration, with resources for workshops and classrooms. |
| Browser access | Free to play. About Electrify | Free to use. About En-ROADS |
Model details: Electrify’s demand model, En-ROADS User Guide, and En-ROADS model structure.
Start with the question you want to explore
How do I keep the lights on?
Start with Electrify if you want to build and operate an electricity grid. Try different power plants, storage, imports, and demand policies. See how weather, construction delays, and growing demand affect your ability to deliver power and pay the bills.
The learning comes from making tradeoffs: affordable electricity, reliable supply, and lower emissions all need attention. A cleaner grid still has to meet demand when the sun goes down.
How could we limit global warming?
Start with En-ROADS if you want to explore combinations of climate solutions. Compare energy choices with transport, buildings, industry, agriculture, forests, and carbon removal. Adjust a policy and inspect how the modeled global outcomes change.
En-ROADS is developed by Climate Interactive and MIT Sloan. Its tutorial helps you explore independently; facilitators can also use it for group discussions.
What each model can show
Both tools model energy costs and storage. In Electrify, individual storage assets have power and energy limits: a battery can run out while your grid still needs electricity. En-ROADS represents storage requirements and costs as wind and solar generation grows. Its storage assumptions affect renewable adoption through costs, rather than directly limiting renewable use.
Both also let you explore data-center demand. Electrify offers an example local grid where you can try meeting extra electricity demand. En-ROADS models data centers globally; its data-center documentation explains that local grid constraints, siting, and local electricity prices are outside its scope.
Each simplifies the real world. Electrify uses one representative day per month, so it cannot establish reliability across every day of a real year or predict a specific project’s costs. It tracks emissions without calculating their effect on global temperature. En-ROADS models global scenarios rather than a particular utility; its baseline is a starting scenario, not a forecast of the most likely future.
Use both to connect the scales
Try this learning exercise on your own or with a class. In En-ROADS, explore electrification alongside cleaner electricity. Then play Electrify and try supplying a growing electricity load while managing reliability, costs, and emissions. Return to En-ROADS to discuss how electricity fits into the broader climate picture.
The En-ROADS dynamics guide explains why cleaner electricity and electrification work together. This is a suggested learning sequence; the two tools run separate models and do not exchange results.
Common questions
Is Electrify an alternative to En-ROADS?
Choose Electrify for a game about utility management and En-ROADS for global climate-policy exploration. They can complement each other, but Electrify does not replace En-ROADS’ climate calculations.
Which simulator is more accurate?
This comparison does not establish an accuracy ranking. The tools answer different questions at different scales. Use their documented assumptions to decide whether a result addresses your question.
Are Electrify and En-ROADS affiliated?
Electrify is a separate project. This comparison is published by Electrify and is not an endorsement by Climate Interactive or MIT Sloan. For the simulator’s own explanation, see the official En-ROADS overview.