Users and households appliances: design suggestions for a better, sustainable interaction

  • Authors:

  • Anna Zandanel

  • Affiliations:

  • IUAV Dorsoduro, ex Convento delle Terese, Venezia (Italy)

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 9th ACM SIGCHI Italian Chapter International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction: Facing Complexity
  • Year:
  • 2011

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Abstract

The Human Machine Interaction has a big role in the user approach with households appliances. During the main phase (the use one), users are called to manage energy choices, often without available efficient information regarding the best behavior they can adopt. At the end, people usually don't pay the attention that a sustainable behavior is supposed to need, wasting consequently energy, this both because of a bad education and an uncompleted communication around the appliance. The product informs users through its physical data and its "collateral communication" (manuals, brochures, websites...). With this paper I will analyze how appliances reach -and don't reach- the final user to suggest him or her the best behavior to save energy. A correct information approach helps a correct appliance use, influencing users' choices and implementing their sustainable knowledge. After a deep analysis of the state of the art, this paper will suggest different interaction ways, to guide people behavior in the households appliances usage, to reach the goal of a sustainable approach. Is it possible to increase energy saving in the appliances use phase? Should the product itself be reviewed, or just its collateral communication, or both? Which are the worst interaction elements able to confuse the user? Which are the best ones? How could designers project appliances in order to create best products and best behaviors? Can some cross interaction solution help user/appliances relationship? And which role should technology have in this challenge?