Preferred attributes of home energy management products for smart grids - Results of a design study and related user survey

Uchechi Obinna; Peter Joore; Linda Wauben; Angèle Reinders

doi:10.1504/JDR.2018.092809

Preferred attributes of home energy management products for smart grids - Results of a design study and related user survey

Uchechi Obinna
, Peter Joore
, Linda Wauben
, Angèle Reinders

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper presents an insight into end-users' perception of smart grid products for households. The analysed products included three types of home energy management products (HEMPs) namely: smart thermostats, smart plugs and smart wall sockets. The analysis involved existing commercial HEMPs, as well as newly designed HEMPs from a students' project executed at University of Twente (Netherlands) in 2013 and 2014. Various industrial design methods were applied, and an online survey was utilised for data collection. The smart thermostat was considered the product with the greatest potential to stimulate energy-efficient behaviour. Features most preferred by end-users are: 1) visual display of energy information; 2) monitoring of energy use of appliances; 3) remote control, and expected ease of use. Appearance also appeared to have influenced the preferences of end-users regarding specific HEMPs. This study highlights the main features that household end-users desire in products that could stimulate energy-efficient behaviour.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	99-130
Number of pages	32
Journal	Journal of Design Research
Volume	16
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1504/JDR.2018.092809
Publication status	Published - 29 Jun 2018
Externally published	Yes

Funding

Linda Wauben graduated from the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at the Delft University of Technology (DUT) in 2005 on the subject ‘Ergonomics in the operating theatre during minimally invasive surgery’. This study was conducted in cooperation with the European Association of Endoscopic Surgery. In 2010, she received her PhD entitled ‘Safety in the operating theatre – a multi factor approach for patients and teams’, which was conducted in close cooperation with the Department of Surgery of the Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam. Currently, she is continuing her research as a Postdoctoral Researcher within the Department of BioMechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (DUT) focussing on team behaviour and the design of Digital Operating Room Assistant (DORA).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Keywords

Energy-efficient behaviour
HEMPs
Home energy management products
IDMs
Industrial design methods
Smart grid products

Access to Document

10.1504/JDR.2018.092809

Cite this

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title = "Preferred attributes of home energy management products for smart grids - Results of a design study and related user survey",

abstract = "This paper presents an insight into end-users' perception of smart grid products for households. The analysed products included three types of home energy management products (HEMPs) namely: smart thermostats, smart plugs and smart wall sockets. The analysis involved existing commercial HEMPs, as well as newly designed HEMPs from a students' project executed at University of Twente (Netherlands) in 2013 and 2014. Various industrial design methods were applied, and an online survey was utilised for data collection. The smart thermostat was considered the product with the greatest potential to stimulate energy-efficient behaviour. Features most preferred by end-users are: 1) visual display of energy information; 2) monitoring of energy use of appliances; 3) remote control, and expected ease of use. Appearance also appeared to have influenced the preferences of end-users regarding specific HEMPs. This study highlights the main features that household end-users desire in products that could stimulate energy-efficient behaviour.",

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PY - 2018/6/29

Y1 - 2018/6/29

N2 - This paper presents an insight into end-users' perception of smart grid products for households. The analysed products included three types of home energy management products (HEMPs) namely: smart thermostats, smart plugs and smart wall sockets. The analysis involved existing commercial HEMPs, as well as newly designed HEMPs from a students' project executed at University of Twente (Netherlands) in 2013 and 2014. Various industrial design methods were applied, and an online survey was utilised for data collection. The smart thermostat was considered the product with the greatest potential to stimulate energy-efficient behaviour. Features most preferred by end-users are: 1) visual display of energy information; 2) monitoring of energy use of appliances; 3) remote control, and expected ease of use. Appearance also appeared to have influenced the preferences of end-users regarding specific HEMPs. This study highlights the main features that household end-users desire in products that could stimulate energy-efficient behaviour.

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KW - Energy-efficient behaviour

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KW - Home energy management products

KW - IDMs

KW - Industrial design methods

KW - Smart grid products

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Preferred attributes of home energy management products for smart grids - Results of a design study and related user survey

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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