Understanding Energy Behaviour – A Necessity for Supporting Domestic Energy Conservation through Design

Domestic energy consumption is continuing to increase and the need to decrease consumption is growing more evident. In this research, two studies were conducted to further the understanding of domestic energy behaviour and increase the knowledge of how energy conservation can be supported. The first study was carried out as an interview study to explore both factors that influence people’s energy behaviour and strategies people currently have adopted for reducing consumption. The second study was a field trial that assessed the extent to which an energy feedback system could support households in reducing their consumption. The findings show that many different factors, i.e., factors related to the person, the activity, and the society, influence people’s domestic energy behaviour as well as their engagement in reducing their energy consumption. As these factors collectively set the preconditions for people’s energy behaviour, it is vital to take into account the interconnection of the different factors when aiming to support energy conservation. For systems and products to be successful in supporting energy conservation, they need to match the preconditions in a way that enables people to reduce consumption while still satisfying their everyday needs and goals. As this research have indicated, energy feedback systems can support motivated people who have the ability and possibility to reduce consumption, but will be a less successful support system for people whose consumption is governed by preconditions that they cannot, or will not, change. A holistic understanding of people’s preconditions and their energy related activities is thus required in order to develop successful products, services, and systems that enable, facilitate, or encourage more people to reduce their domestic energy consumption

Designing products and services for circular consumption - A circular design tool

Most circular design tools focus on how to design durable products that are fit for circular (re-)production flows, or how to design circular business models. The crucial role users play for a transition to a circular economy is often overlooked in existing tools, as is design opportunities to enable and support circular consumption. This paper presents one of the tools in the Use2Use Design Toolkit, the Circular Designs Ideation Pack, which is a user-centered circular design tool especially developed to aid designers and others to design for circular consumption. The tool supports design of products and services that can create enabling preconditions making it more convenient, and preferable for people to circulate products from use to use. In contrast to other available circular design tools, it supports exploration of circular design opportunities from a user perspective and in relation to people’s consumption processes. The tool has been tested in eight workshops with professionals and students, who considered it easy and fun to use. The workshop participants found the tool instructive and inspirational, and said that it helped them to discuss relevant design opportunities and come up with promising circular ideas. They also expressed that looking at circularity from a user’s point of view made it easy for them to address the topic. While the tool was found both usable and valuable in an educational workshop setting, the tool’s potential when utilised in companies’ regular design processes is yet to be explored. Future research will address how to integrate the tool as a part of existing processes to effectively support companies to design for consumption

The Use2Use Design Toolkit-Tools for User-Centred Circular Design

Recent research highlights that the important role users play in the transition to a circular economy is often overlooked. While the current narrative emphasises how to design products fit for circular (re-)production flows, or how to design circular business models, it often fails to address how such solutions can be designed to be attractive to people. As long as products and services are designed in a way that makes people prefer linear options over circular ones, the transition will not gain momentum. To further the understanding of how a user perspective can be valuable for circular design, this paper introduces the Use2Use Design Toolkit and presents initial experiences from using its five tools in design work. The tools were developed between 2016 and 2019 and subsequently applied in 30 workshops with professionals and students. Insights from the workshops suggest that the participants generally found the tools fun, instructive and inspirational. The tools enabled them to discuss circular processes from a user\u27s point of view and to identify challenges and design opportunities. The toolkit was considered especially relevant and meaningful by product and service designers who needed support to explore circular solutions from a user perspective

(How) Can Appliances be Designed to Support Less Energy-Intensive Use? Insights from a Field Study on Kitchen Appliances

This paper presents findings from a study carried out to contribute to the growing knowledge base within the Design for Sustainable Behaviour research field. Coffee makers, electric kettles and toasters were evaluated to explore if and why particular appliances may mediate less energy-intensive use to a greater extent than others. Eighteen participants used three appliances of the same type for two weeks each, during which the participants’ use of the appliances and the resulting energy use were monitored. In addition, semi-structured interviews and online surveys were conducted to explore how the appliances’ functions and overall design influenced energy use. The findings show that both specific functions and the design as a whole form the design characteristics that set preconditions for energy use. The study thus suggests that if appliances are not designed to support energy conservation holistically, there is a risk that aspects that have not been addressed will lead to more energy-intensive use. This makes it essential for designers to consider the full variety of characteristics influencing energy use. Based on the findings, design opportunities were identified and design guidelines formulated. The insights gained highlight new opportunities for design practice that can aid designers in designing for less energy-intensive use

Design Beyond Interventions – Supporting Less Energy-reliant Activities in the Everyday

This thesis addresses challenges and opportunities for product design to contribute to domestic energy conservation. The overall aim of the thesis is that of increasing the understanding of people’s energy use and their use of energy-reliant artefacts in the everyday in order to propose ways of supporting energy conservation through design. Two main themes are explored within its scope: how people’s doings in everyday life influence energy use and how energy-reliant artefacts designed to support energy conservation influence energy use. Material from four empirical studies has been used to address the themes and discuss implications for design practice. Study A investigated how people’s possession and use of appliances influenced energy use and Study B explored people’s energy use and approach to energy conservation from the perspective of everyday activities. Studies C and D investigated how artefacts designed to support energy conservation may influence energy use through evaluations of an energy feedback system and kitchen appliances designed to mediate less energy-intensive use, respectively. A cross-study analysis shows that people’s energy use is embedded in the web of activities that make up everyday life and suggests that the design of energy-reliant artefacts mediates the actions and outcomes of those activities. Depending on their overall design, design characteristics, and their fit with the activity that is enabled, energy-reliant artefacts may either facilitate energy conservation or make less energy-intensive use challenging or undesirable. For instance, if artefacts are not easily understandable and easy to use, and if they do not provide suitable functions that enable people to use them effectively for a particular purpose, they risk being rejected or used in an energy-intensive way. The findings thus suggest that artefacts designed with one or more functions aimed to motivate or encourage people to reduce their energy use, commonly referred to as design interventions in literature, risk impeding energy conservation if they do not support energy conservation as a whole. To increase the potential for artefacts to support energy conservation, it is crucial to design suitable and relevant artefacts that provide for less energy-reliant everyday activities and that make it possible and desirable for people to meet their needs and attain their goals in less energy-intensive ways. If less energy-intensive use is only encouraged, but is not enabled and mediated, it will be difficult for people that do not have the preconditions to use less energy to actually reduce their energy use. This thesis therefore argues for moving beyond design interventions and instead designing for less energy-reliant activities by holistically considering the preconditions and design characteristics that functions on all layers of design may give rise to. Such an approach has the potential to reduce mismatches between the design of an artefact and the activity enabled, which in turn may increase the potential for artefacts to be used in less-energy-intensive ways and be adopted long term. In conclusion, the thesis provides new insights into the way in which people’s activities and use of artefacts influence energy use and highlights opportunities for design practitioners to create preconditions for less energy-reliant activities in the everyday

Understanding Energy Behaviour – A Necessity for Supporting Domestic Energy Conservation through Design

Domestic energy consumption is continuing to increase and the need to decrease consumption is growing more evident. In this research, two studies were conducted to further the understanding of domestic energy behaviour and increase the knowledge of how energy conservation can be supported. The first study was carried out as an interview study to explore both factors that influence people’s energy behaviour and strategies people currently have adopted for reducing consumption. The second study was a field trial that assessed the extent to which an energy feedback system could support households in reducing their consumption.The findings show that many different factors, i.e., factors related to the person, the activity, and the society, influence people’s domestic energy behaviour as well as their engagement in reducing their energy consumption. As these factors collectively set the preconditions for people’s energy behaviour, it is vital to take into account the interconnection of the different factors when aiming to support energy conservation. For systems and products to be successful in supporting energy conservation, they need to match the preconditions in a way that enables people to reduce consumption while still satisfying their everyday needs and goals. As this research have indicated, energy feedback systems can support motivated people who have the ability and possibility to reduce consumption, but will be a less successful support system for people whose consumption is governed by preconditions that they cannot, or will not, change. A holistic understanding of people’s preconditions and their energy related activities is thus required in order to develop successful products, services, and systems that enable, facilitate, or encourage more people to reduce their domestic energy consumption

A Tool for Charting Circular Consumption Journeys

Circular economy proponents often argue that products should be designed to last long, be fit for circular (re-) production flows, and be offered through circular services. While this is essential for bringing about a transition to a circular economy, changes in consumption are equally important. Transitioning from linear consumption processes (i.e. buying new products, using, and disposing of them as trash) to circular consumption processes (i.e. obtaining pre-used products, using, and passing them on to others) can however be challenging for people. Renting, borrowing, trading and other circular paths of consumption commonly require more time, effort and planning than linear paths of consumption. In order to make it more preferable for people to circulate products from consumer to consumer, products and services should be designed to make circularity convenient and desirable in everyday life. Such design processes require an in-depth understanding of people’s consumption processes. Yet, the available support to explore what circular consumption processes entail for people in everyday life is insufficient. Therefore, this paper introduces a tool for charting circular consumption journeys, which can support the development of products and services fit for circularity. This tool was developed during 2016-2019 in an iterative process in which the tool was tested by industry representatives and design students. In parallel with these activities, a team of researchers continuously developed and refined the tool based on gained insights. The tool aids designers and other agents to chart people’s consumption processes step-by-step, with a focus on people’s activities, actions, decisions and experiences. By charting circular consumption journeys, insight can be gained regarding critical hinders that may keep people from engaging in circular consumption. Moreover, it will unveil consumption-related challenges that should be addressed when designing circular products and services. Overall, the tool can aid organisations to both increase their understanding of circular consumption processes and to explore opportunities to develop products and services for a circular economy

What a designer can change: a proposal for a categorisation of artefact-related aspects

This paper proposes a categorisation of artefact-related aspects that in different ways set people’s preconditions for acting with technology. The categorisation can serve as a starting point for discussing which aspects are relevant to consider from a Design for Sustainable Behaviour perspective. The categorisation sorts these aspects into different layers: from the over-arching layer of enabled activity, through artefact type(s), operative functions, interactive functions, and finally communicative functions. Using examples from research studies, and a selection of theory and methods, we argue for an increased focus on all artefact- related aspects. Moreover, it is essential to move between layers to ensure a consistent design that in every layer provides preconditions for sustainable behaviour. The paper also discusses benefits of redesigning the artefacts people use in their everyday activities, instead of designing artefacts that stimulate new types of conservation activities