Beyond demand management: the value of sharing electricity information

Authors:
Stephen Snow;Margot Brereton
Affiliations:
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia;Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Venue:
BCS-HCI '12 Proceedings of the 26th Annual BCS Interaction Specialist Group Conference on People and Computers
Year:
2012

Citing 6
Cited 1

Deploying research technology in the home

Proceedings of the 2008 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work
Collective information practice: emploring privacy and security as social and cultural phenomena

Human-Computer Interaction
Energy aware dwelling: a critical survey of interaction design for eco-visualizations

Proceedings of the 20th Australasian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction: Designing for Habitus and Habitat
Smart metering demand management programs: challenging the comfort and cleanliness habitus of households

Proceedings of the 20th Australasian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction: Designing for Habitus and Habitat
Studying always-on electricity feedback in the home

Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Motivating domestic energy conservation through comparative, community-based feedback in mobile and social media

Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Communities and Technologies

Curiosity to cupboard: self reported disengagement with energy use feedback over time

Proceedings of the 25th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference: Augmentation, Application, Innovation, Collaboration

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Technologies such as smart meters and electricity feedback are becoming an increasingly compelling focus for HCI researchers in light of rising power prices and peak demand. We argue, however, that a pre-occupation with the goal of demand management has limited the scope of design for these technologies. In this paper we present our work-in-progress investigating the potential value of socially sharing electricity information as a means of broadening the scope of design for these devices. This paper outlines some preliminary findings gathered from a design workshop and a series of qualitative interviews with householders in Brisbane, Australia, regarding their attitudes towards electricity feedback and sharing consumption information. Preliminary findings suggest that; (1) the social sharing of electricity feedback information has the potential to be of value in better informing consumption decisions, however; (2) the potential for sharing may be constrained by attitudes towards privacy, trust and the possibility of misinformation being shared. We conclude by outlining ideas for our future research on this topic and invite comments on these ideas.