Watt-I-See: Design and Evaluation of an Interactive Installation Using Eco-feedforward Strategies

Abstract

In this paper, we present the design and evaluation of Watt-I-See (WISE), a tangible interactive installation aimed at probing awareness in two target audiences (children and adults) about renewable energy resources that could inform eco-feedforward strategies. Our system combines a tangible interface representing five different energy sources, with a set of Lego™ blocks used to manipulate different weather conditions that affect the available energy mix. Through the evaluation of WISE, our main goal was to expose users to the effort necessary to produce the energy used in our day-to-day lives. We evaluated the installation separately for children and adults. The focus on children was due to their importance in the overall household consumption and their role in future scenarios where consumers will have to adapt to the availability of renewable energy sources. The focus on adults was to observe the impact of such information in their decision making regarding their routines. Our findings highlight the success of the interface in engaging children and adults, creating awareness between weather conditions and energy production and the fossil-fuel energy baseline in the grid. Overall, the study highlights the importance of providing a close point-of-interaction feedback as it enables a better understanding of energy-related decisions, reactions, and availability of resources. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS• A tangible interactive installation was designed to probe awareness about energy resources.• The installation was evaluated with two separate types of users: adults and children.• Users perceived its information as useful and could integrate it into their daily lives.• New directions for eco-feedback systems that use strategies to control or modify the consumption based on the availability of resources.

Promoting Sustainable Energy Consumption Behavior through Interactive Data Visualizations

“…[ [63][64][65] √ √ √ † All example cases listed in the categories Visualizations for Analytics and Gamified and Serious Game Visualizations often also deploy some form of Charts, Graphs or Gauges for communicating energy consumption data. ‡ The example cases listed in this row are learning applications which aim to inform users about potential energy-saving options.…”

“…An interesting example of a tangible energy visualization has been developed by Quintal et al [63,64], in a system called Watt-I-See. The aim of Watt-I-See is to raise consumers' awareness about energy production.…”