EXPLORATION REPORT // DYSON, ORDONA, HAN. Exploration Report. Dallas Dyson, Ella Ordona, Joe Han

Transcription

1 1 Exploration Report Dallas Dyson, Ella Ordona, Joe Han

2 2 The Problem Through our brainstorming session in our first meeting, we explored about how conscious we were about the different ways we consume electricity and water in our daily lives. In terms of water consumption, we identified that we were most conscious of our water consumption that we could touch and feel, instead of those forms that we could not see (such as in dishwashers or laundry machines). When taking a shower, one is able to feel the gallons of water washing over them, and for that reason are able to be more aware about how much they are consuming. Electricity is a bit more complex because one can not usually see it, only it s results. We again were more aware of the forms of electricity we could visually see, (such as lighting), while we were less aware of the forms of electricity that are less visible (such as heaters or electricity fed through our outlets). For this reason we have identified the problem to be people s inability to truly visualize and understand how much energy and water they consume until they receive a bill with a final report.

3 3 Approach In terms of our approach, we want to provide a more visceral and meaningful way for our users to track their energy and water usage, especially in the forms that are currently intangible to them. We want to design a system that is subtle and seamlessly integrated into their existing everyday experience in their homes, so that they will feel encouraged and empowered about reducing their resource consumption instead of irritated or nagged by this prospect. We envision there being a central dashboard that can display their overall data in a meaningful way, while also having indicators at the individual points of energy consumption. This system should be displayed by some sort of technology that fits fairly seamlessly in to their existing patterns of living, instead of being on their phone or wearable XR that they may not desire to pull out and check their usage daily.

4 4 Benefits to Solution Some benefits of designing a system that is subtle and habit forming is that the user s relationship with the product will be able to be long-lasting. Currently, people care about their energy usage for short spikes during the course of the month, either when they can see or feel their usage directly or for the days after they receive their energy or water bill. By creating a system in which the user can visualize their utility usage, they will be able to consciously reduce the resources they use every day, not just during the times it effects them the most. Not only will users be able to reduce their cost of these utilities, but will feel benefited emotionally and morally by their understanding of their lowered environmental impact compared to those around them.

5 5 Competitor Research General Design Language of the smart home device Thermostats and Smart Switches Nest Ecobee

6 6 Competitor Research Devices that don t have a dashboard but connect to phone/tablet to display data Device that has its own dashboard to display data to user Stream - monitors water consumption and for water leakage EnergyCloud - allows you to subscribe notifications delivered to your mobile device or . Sense Central hub that controls not only lighting, heating but also speaker, wifi signals.

7 7 Market Research Simmons Research: Rise of the Smart Home Consumer Inman: What Consumers are Looking for in Smart Homes - 46% (93 million adults) of internet-wired households have some sort of smart device - People have a strong attachment to their own personal devices (tablets, game consoles, etc.) - People do their research first, but seek instant gratification - People spend $22,000 on discretionary items a year - Identify as compotent, trustworthy and reliable - Early adopters of technology, and are active on social media - Skew male (53%) and millenial (45%) - Live on west coast and have household income of $114,000 a year Gfk: Future of Smart Home Study (UK) - Consumers expect interaction with smart home to be through phone - Simplicity for smart home - would rather have a single vendor than many (63%) - Only 26% extremely satisfied with their smart meter (followed by 45% very satisfied) - Income level greater impact on appeal - cost is a barrier - 61% expect devices made by different vendors to communicate with each other - Perceive utility companies to be the best vendor for smart Energy and Lighting Smart locks, lights and thermostats rank highest Increase safety and privacy while reducing costs and energy usage Builder Online: Consumers Top Five Smart Home Products - Likelihood that a consumer will purchase a smart home device increases by 93% among those who have seen the technology in action - 40% of North Americans listed entertainment room as area of home most excited about connecting to their smart home, followed by kitchen (39%), Smart Home Ecosystem: IoT and Consumers - 50% report interoperability as very important - Early smart home device and system adopter characteristics: - Consumers have strong tech affinity - Consumers have a pride of home ownership - Consumers have a concern of for the safety of the home

8 8 Audience Research We put together a short survey on Google Forms, with questions geared towards energy and water usage, along with behavior. Specifically, we asked participants to choose the corresponding action that would have the greatest single effect on energy and water consumption, as an individual and as part of a society, and then asked them how difficult it would be for them to implement that change. After priming them to think about their energy and water habits, we then asked them to list their greatest motivator. Responses to this question varied, but nearly half of the participants listed rewards as the greatest motivator. Although we feel like we were able to gather some valuble insights, we felt like we could have been more clear in choosing possible responses. This was our first attempt at a survey pertaining to this project, and would love to gather more responses throughout the course of the rest of this project.

9 9 Turn off lights and appliances when not in use (6.9%) Competition (3.1%) Other (6.9%) Community (20.3%) Achievements (4.7%) Consume Less (48.3%) Meaningful Goals (17.2%) Rewards (40.6%) Other (14.1%) Use renewable energy sources (27.6%) Drive less and use other forms of transportation (10.3%) Opinion: What is the single most effective action Americans can do to use less energy? What motivates an individual the most to use less resources?

10 Interviews We also conducted interviews, and found that there is a desire for more knowledge of how a person s specific usage affects their community and the world, and that long-lasting change would likely not happen without intrinsic motivators. Things that have value to me have more motivation to me...anything that personally connects me to it is a strong motivator. I d have to think about what I could do that would drastically change the consumption. I know there are things I can do to conserve but I d want to know about that before I started changing stuff - would the effort I expend actually be beneficial? Additionally, all interviewees stated that they thought about their water usage more than electricity usage; one person observed that it was easier to be aware of it (water running, long showers, etc.) while another said that because all organisms need it to live, they were hyperaware of their consumption. Because you need [water] to survive, using it for other things when people and other organisms need it to live makes me feel guilty. When asked whether there were certain triggers or pain points that prompted them to pay more or less attention to their usage, one person responded that overall anxiety and stress in their life played a part in how much mental capacity they had to allocate towards caring about the environment. Another pointed out that they pay more attention to their usage directly after they receive their monthly bills from the utilitiy companies. I have a million things all the time, so it s the last thing on my mind. It s hard to break out of the habits I m already in.

11 Interviews Finally, we found similarities with users expectations regarding digital products that delivered these tracking and visualization services. When asked to list qualities that that they would expect from such a product, all said they expected:` Simplicity There s so many products already that require logging in and inputting data - it s like motivational gymnastics on the part of the user. For the first week, at least, accessing the app should be simple. Low overhead (storage & cognitively) I had another app that took up all my space on my phone. If I have to delete other apps to use this, I wouldn t do it. // There should be no burden on the user! Affordability A lot of these products are marketed towards a certain socioecononic class. That really turns me off. // I don t buy apps - ever. Analysis placed within context It s not enough to just track stuff and be like this is how much you re using or not using, but also...[it needs to be] put it in relative terms. Put these numbers into context. // I don t know what these numbers mean if they re just on a page. How is this affecting my community and the world? Seamlessness and automation Make it as automatic as possible. I don t want to have to enter things every day. // I ll find ways to not interact with it if I have to. There has to be a way for it to be unobtrusive but still in my face. // I want it to fade into the background when I m not looking at it - I want to get that information ambiently.

12 12 Thank You! Dallas Dyson, Ella Ordona, Joe Han