Investigating the impact of a minimalist in-home energy consumption display

Abstract

We investigated the impact of a minimal in-home Energy Consumption Display (ECD), both stationary and portable versions, on household energy awareness and consumption. We deployed the ECD in eight homes for three weeks each, providing half of the participants with a portable version and the others with a stationary one. This work presents an account of each user's experience through pre- and post-surveys, power meter data, and post-deployment interviews and results of the study, which show that users reduced energy consumption by identifying high-power devices in their home and by playfully setting conservation goals.