| CCurtis | Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 02:31 pm
Hello to all. I am a fourth year student in Scotland studying product design and for my final project I am creating a product to motivate and be instrumental in saving energy in the home.
From my research so far I find that the main instrument that communicates consumption "the meter" is usually tucked away in a cupboard and does not communicate energy consumption effectivley.
If a new meter were to be created what features do you think people may benifit from, and why.
-Features such as, consumption history,
-an ability to view how much you are spending,
-a visual/graphical indicator of how efficient you are
-ability to send your meter reading to your supplier (No estimates)
these are all possibilities - your thoughts are greatly appreciated and will have an influence on the final design, thanks |
| mYoung | Monday, March 22, 2004 - 01:14 am
What are you metering? The total energy consumption of the whole house or could you monitor individual circuits?
If you could relate consumption to the benefits to the user somehow (eg warmth, entertainment, lighting) that might give them a better understanding of how much their behaviour costs them. |
| Frank Wuggenig | Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 01:12 pm
Your project is an excellent idea - the meter is an important 'sustainability indicator' and needs to be made more accessible and interpretable.
My own design ideas would include the following:
* Symbols representing the population of the building/house - its relevant if energy is being used by 1 person or a 7-head family.
* zoning which room /activity uses the most energy?
* As an indicator the meter should show last month consumption or record previous levels. How else can you determine if you're using less energy? This should be done by graphic applications not numbers to be widely understood.
For the future:
Have a meter that differentiates where the power comes from. It could show a moving windmill - solar panels etc and give a percentage of energy contributions.
I'll stop here - Gone to to the patent office! |