The gamified grid: Possibilities for utilising game-based motivational psychology to empower the Smart Social Grid

Abstract

The Smart Grid will provide a more flexible, extensible and reliable electrical network by utilising advanced communication, computation and control techniques. It thus consists of two networks: the power and the data grid. However, a third grid exists: that of the human users. The radical rethinking of electrical generation and distribution that is inherent in the Smart Grid must be mirrored by a societal revolution in the way people consume, relate to and think about electrical power. This `Smart Social Grid' needs to enable energy education, social interaction and energy conservation behaviours. To empower the paradigm shifts necessary for the Smart Grid, users of the grid have to be motivated and actively engaged on a long-term basis. It is thus pertinent to investigate human motivational psychology and the use of gamification to leverage motivation. Particularly, the theories of Self-Determination and Organismic Integration identify three factors necessary for intrinsic motivation: autonomy, competence and relatedness. It is argued that a gamified system can provide these by enabling self-presentation and social interaction; the autonomous completion of tasks that conserve electrical energy; and a platform for energy education and discourse.