Power and energy visualization for the micro-management of household electricity consumption

The paper describes a pilot system for the detailed management of domestic electricity consumption aimed at minimizing demand peaks and consumer cost. Management decisions are made both interactively by consumers themselves, and where practical, automatically by computer. These decisions are based on realtime pricing and availability information, as well as current and historic usage data. The benefits of the energy strategies implied by such a system are elaborated, showing the potential for significant peak demand reduction and slowing of the need for growth in generation capacity. An overview is provided of the component technologies and interaction methods we have designed, but the paper focuses on the communication of real-time information to the consumer through a combination of specific and ambient visualizations. There is a need for both overview information (eg how much power is being used right now; how much energy have we used so far today; what does it cost?) and information at the point-of-use (is it OK to turn this dryer on now, or should I wait until later?). To assist the design of these visualizations, a survey is underway aimed at establishing people's understanding of power and energy concepts

The state of green technologies in South Africa

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Ensuring Urban Water Security in Water-Scarce Regions of the United States

On December 11-13, 2013, The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread, along with partner ReNUWit, convened experts from different parts of the country to discuss the implications of chronic and episodic water scarcity on our nation's water infrastructure -- with the goal of moving beyond the "case-by-case" conversation to one about how cities can transform their infrastructure and management strategies. The resulting report identifies key principles of water security and explores components of good strategy and innovative water supply options while building the case for transformation

Reducing car-use for leisure: can organised walking groups switch from car travel to bus and train walks?

This paper deals with the significant leisure travel sector, focusing on the attitudes of organised walking groups towards public transport use. A series of interviews with walking group leaders explored the design of organised walks, and factors affecting journeys to and from start points. The themes presented suggest an overlying group culture involving mainly circular walks, reached by car. The research indicates an underlying engrained dependency on cars to reach walks and a degree of opposition to using public transport, which generally contradicts widely–held attitudes towards protecting the environment. Future research should focus more in depth on the long-term removal of psychological barriers to using public transport for leisure, and persuasive measures aimed at groups

The cost of virtue : reward as well as feedback are required to reduce user ICT power consumption

This work was partly supported by the IU-AC project, funded by grant EP/J016756/1 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).We show that students in a school lab environment will change their behaviour to be more energy efficient, when appropriate incentives are in place, and when measurement-based, real-time feedback about their energy usage is provided. Rewards incentivise `non-green' users to be `green' as well as encouraging those users who already claim to be `green'. Measurement-based feedback improves user energy awareness and helps users to explore and adjust their use of computers to become `greener', but is not sufficient by itself. In our measurements, weekly mean group energy use as a whole reduced by up to 16%; and weekly individual user energy consumption reduced by up to 56% during active use. The findings are drawn from our longitudinal study that involved 83 Computer Science students; lasted 48 weeks across 2 academic years; monitored a total of 26778 hours of active computer use; collected approximately 2TB of raw data.Publisher PD

Social Sustainability: A design research approach to sustainable development

While issues such as clean production and energy efficiency are still central in sustainable development discourse, attention is increasingly on patterns of consumption at multiple levels in society. This opens new opportunities and responsibilities for design research, as we shift from a focus on product lifecycles to people’s lifestyles. It also requires further understanding the ‘social sustainability’ aspects of the environment and development, including the complexity of problematics characterized by uncertainties, contradictions and controversies. In response, we propose a programmatic approach, in which a tentative assemblage of theoretical and experimental strategies frame a common ground for a collaborative and practice-led inquiry. We present a design research program based on two propositions: socio-cultural practices are the basic unit for design, and; transitions, and transition management, are the basic points of design intervention. Rather than affirming the status quo or the prevailing discourse, we argue for design research as a ‘critical practice’, in which cultural diversity, non-humans and multiple futures are considered

Demand-Side Management Programs Under Retail Electricity Competition

Demand-side management programs comprise subsidies from franchised electric utilities for the purchase of high-efficiency appliances, e.g., air conditioners. Competition in power generation threatens the viability of these programs. However, it should also reduce the warrant for them. Under regulation, the justification for such programs depends, somewhat paradoxically, on below marginal-cost pricing. Eliminating regulation should permit pricing flexibility to discourage excessive on-peak energy use. It should also eliminate the assurance of returns that may have encouraged overbuilding of generation capacity. Entrants and incumbent utilities should find it easier to offer "energy services," i.e., to bundle electricity with appliances, if consumers are too myopic to realize the benefits of increasing energy efficiency. Environmental degradation remains a problem, but competition can improve the performance of incentive-based regulations (e.g., permit trades), reducing the value of DSM as a supplemental, second-best alternative.