Abstract
Oneofthegreatsocietalchallengesthatwefacetodayconcernsthemovetomoresustainablepatterns of energy consumption, reflecting the need to balance both individual consumer choice and societal demands. In order for this ‘energy turnaround’ to take place, however, reducing residential energy consumptionmustgobeyondusingenergy-efficientdevices:Moresustainablebehaviourandlifestyles are essential parts of future ‘energy aware’living.Addressing this issue from an HCI perspective, this paper presents the results of a 3-year research project dealing with the co-design and appropriation of a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) that has been rolled out in a living lab setting with seven households for a period of 18 months. Our HEMS is inspired by feedback systems in Sustainable Interaction Design and allows the monitoring of energy consumption in real-time. In contrast to existing research mainly focusing on how technology can persuade people to consume less energy (‘what technology does to people’), our study focuses on the appropriation of energy feedback systems(‘whatpeopledowithtechnology’)andhownewlydevelopedpracticescanbecomearesource for future technology design.Therefore, we deliberately followed an open research design. In keeping with this approach, our study uncovers various responses, practices and obstacles of HEMS use. We show that HEMS use is characterized by a number of different features. Recognizing the distinctive patterns of technology use in the different households and the evolutionary character of that use within the households, we conclude with a discussion of these patterns in relation to existing research and their meaning for the design of future HEMSs. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS • We developed an own Home Energy Management System (HEMS). • We rolled out our HEMS system in a living lab setting to seven households over a period of 18 months. • Our System provides feedback through TV, PC, smartphone and tablet-based interfaces. • This allowed us to explore ‘what people do with HEMS in daily life’. • We identify and discuss nine meaningful categories of appropriating HEMS. • Based on our results, we discuss potentials for the design of future HEMSs.
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