Mobile application for household energy consumption feedback using smart meters: Increasing energy awareness, encouraging energy savings and avoiding energy peaks

Abstract

The energy consumption in form of electricity in households is highly dependent on the behavior of the inhabitants. Timely feedback on the user's household energy consumption and energy saving advisory is the key to energy saving. In this paper, the concept of a mobile application which displays real-time energy consumption information in a household is presented. The goal is to increase energy awareness amongst the users, encourage energy savings and make the user avoid using larger amounts of energy during the energy peaks. A prototype using techniques such as visualization, gamification and social networking was developed and tested in regards to its goals and usability.