This paper provides a description and analysis of the Greenview project, an
experiment in smart sensing leading to energy consumption behaviour change in building
users. Greenview was an innovative app built on the back of the successful DUALL project
(funded by JISC). Where DUALL created a simple web-based information-feedback tool
that could report electrical consumption in specific university buildings back to users via
a simple dashboard using Yahoo widgets; Greenview refined the ICT tool further into a
sophisticated smart phone application which could connect staff and students in De Montfort
University (DMU) to monitor the relative energy consumptions of their buildings.
The developed iPhone ‘app’ visualised comparative energy use on the DMU campus through
a narrative of improving or declining habitats for endangered species, represented by
animated cartoon characters living as virtual mascots in each university building. Based
on the emotive nature of the ‘Tamagochi’ concept, the app tested an engaging way to
encourage care for the environment. When consumption levels exceeded those on the
same day of the previous year, the visible well being of species would change. The app
also provided real-time data through meter readings provided on a half-hourly basis,
allowing the inclusion of graphical data options, appealing both to emotional identification
with the building mascot and to the range of preferences individuals have for viewing
and interpreting data.Funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union.peer-reviewe
