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Towards a User-Centered Feedback Design for Smart Meter Interfaces to Support Efficient Energy-Use Choices

A Design Science Approach

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Abstract

Based on interviews of users’ experience with current smart-meter technologies the authors propose, implement and evaluate a user-centered design of an energy-use information system that assists private households in making efficient energy consumption decisions. Instead of providing disaggregated data, the envisioned system automatically calculates the monetary savings from replacing an appliance or by changing the operational behavior of an appliance. The information provided is personalized with respect to appliance use and also comprises information from external databases. A prototype is implemented and evaluated in a use case with white goods household appliances. The study concludes with directions for further interactivity improvements and research into the structures of an openly shared appliance database.

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Notes

  1. Specific heat capacity of water (\(4186\, \mathrm{J/(kg~deg)}\) ) \(\cdot\) temperature difference (\(60\, \mathrm{deg} - 40\, \mathrm{deg} = 20 \,\mathrm{deg}\)) \(\cdot\) water mass (\(10 \,\mathrm{l} \approx 10\, \mathrm{kg }\)) \(\cdot\) Wh per joule (\(1/3600\, \mathrm{(Wh)/J}\)).

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Michael Schilling and Henning Quellenberg for their research assistance during the development of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RISE Viktoria, Lindholmspiren 3A, 41756, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Anders Dalén

  2. University of Passau, Dr. Hans-Kapfinger-Str. 12, 94032, Passau, Germany

    Jan Krämer

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  1. Anders Dalén
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  2. Jan Krämer
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Correspondence to Anders Dalén.

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Accepted after three revisions by Prof. Dr. Jarke.

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Dalén, A., Krämer, J. Towards a User-Centered Feedback Design for Smart Meter Interfaces to Support Efficient Energy-Use Choices. Bus Inf Syst Eng 59, 361–373 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-017-0489-x

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