Abstract
ABSTRACTDifferent data visualizations are investigated for how they enable occupants to learn about domestic energy consumption. Smart metering can potentially encourage householders to change their behaviour and save energy. However, concerns exist about whether users understand domestic energy feedback. Two challenges are addressed: feedback displays typically show aggregate consumption and they show time-series data visualizations, which are difficult to relate to everyday actions in the household. A laboratory experiment (N = 43) assessed changes in participants’ knowledge of how much electricity everyday actions consume after being exposed to different forms of energy-consumption data visualizations: (1) an aggregated time-series line graph, (2) a disaggregated time-series line graph and (3) a normalized disaggregated visualization that deemphasized time. Participants played an energy game both before and after they saw the simulation. Participants in condition (3) were more accurate and more confident in their post-test judgments about everyday domestic electricity consumption than other participants. These findings suggest that the type of data visualization affects users’ understanding of domestic electricity consumption. The visualization of disaggregated energy feedback at the appliance level should be considered for future generations of technology.
Highlights
Prior research suggests that people have a poor understanding of how much electricity domestic appliances in their home use (Chisik, 2011; Kempton & Montgomery, 1982; Mettler-Meibom & Wichmann, 1982). Attari, DeKay, Davidson, and De Bruin (2010) asked participants in an online survey to indicate the most effective thing they could do to conserve energy and to estimate the energy used by nine household appliances
The results suggest that it is hard for users to comprehend aggregated energy feedback because it does not relate to their everyday lives
Comprehension is a key factor that plays a significant role in the extent to which in-home displays (IHDs) are likely to result in changes to energy consumption
Summary
Prior research suggests that people have a poor understanding of how much electricity domestic appliances in their home use (Chisik, 2011; Kempton & Montgomery, 1982; Mettler-Meibom & Wichmann, 1982). Attari, DeKay, Davidson, and De Bruin (2010) asked participants in an online survey to indicate the most effective thing they could do to conserve energy and to estimate the energy used by nine household appliances. Attari, DeKay, Davidson, and De Bruin (2010) asked participants in an online survey to indicate the most effective thing they could do to conserve energy and to estimate the energy used by nine household appliances. They found that participants were unreasonably biased towards curtailment strategies (i.e. using appliances less) rather than replacing inefficient appliances, and that they were unaware of large energy differences across appliances and activities. In the hope of enabling such sound decision-making, there is a general push to provide homes with smart meters with in-home displays (IHDs) that show real-time and historic energy consumption. It has been questioned how clear and easy it is to understand domestic energy data on many current-generation smart meter IHDs (Roberts & Baker, 2003; Wever, van Kuijk, & Boks, 2008)
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