the visible energy trial: insights from qualitative interviews
TRANSCRIPT
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The Visible Energy Trial:
Insights from Qualitative Interviews
Tom Hargreaves
February 2010
Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Working Paper 141
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The Visible Energy Trial: Insights from Qualitative Interviews
Tom Hargreaves
Tyndall Working Paper 141, February 2009
Please note that Tyndall working papers are "work in progress". Whilst they are
commented on by Tyndall researchers, they have not been subject to a full peer review.
The accuracy of this work and the conclusions reached are the responsibility of the
author(s) alone and not the Tyndall Centre.
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TheVisibleEnergyTrial:InsightsfromQualitativeInterviews
TomHargreaves
February2010
Correspondence:
Dr.TomHargreavesSchoolofEnvironmentalSciences
UniversityofEastAnglia
Norwich,[email protected]
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CONTENTS
1.INTRODUCTION:BACKGROUNDTOTHEPROJECT ......................................................... 21.1METHODOLOGYANDPARTICIPANTS .......................................................................................................3
2.MOTIVATIONSFORPARTICIPATINGINTHETRIAL ....................................................... 6
3.INTERACTIONSWITHTHEDEVICES .................................................................................... 83.1INSTALLATIONANDSETUP ......................................................................................................................8 3.2WHATFEATURESOFTHEDEVICESHAVEPARTICIPANTSUSED?.....................................................10
3.2.1SoloUsage.......................................................................................................................................... 103.2.2DuetUsage......................................................................................................................................... 133.2.3MyEnergyWebsiteUsage............................................................................................................ 173.2.4TrioUsage.......................................................................................................................................... 193.2.5Whousesthedevices?................................................................................................................... 23
4.WHATEFFECTSHAVETHEDEVICESHAD?......................................................................25
4.1ONAWARENESS?......................................................................................................................................25 4.2ONLEVELSOFCONSUMPTION?..............................................................................................................27
4.2.1Usingithot:Immediateactiontoreduceconsumption................................................. 274.2.2Identifyingwaste ............................................................................................................................ 284.2.3Improvingefficiency...................................................................................................................... 294.2.4Developingnewlifestylepatterns............................................................................................ 294.2.5MakingFuturePlans ..................................................................................................................... 304.2.6Spillover .............................................................................................................................................. 314.2.7Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 32
5.LIMITATIONS ................. .................. ................... .................. .................. .................. .................335.1CERTAINAPPLIANCESARENECESSITIES ..............................................................................................33
5.2LIFESTYLESSHOULDNOTBECOMPROMISED ......................................................................................34 5.3FAMILYNEGOTIATIONS ..........................................................................................................................35 5.4LACKOFFURTHERINFORMATION .........................................................................................................36 5.5UNSUPPORTIVEPOLICYCONTEXT .........................................................................................................37
6.CONCLUSIONSANDRECOMMENDATIONS........................................................................38
Acknowledgements: The author would like to thank Carbon Connections
(Grant: CC29); GreenEnergy Options;SYS ConsultingLtd.;British Gas; the UKEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and E.ON UK
funded Transition Pathways to a Low Carbon Economy project (Grant:
EP/F022832/1);theEconomicandSocialResearchCouncilforfundingapost-doctoralfellowshipthatallowedthisworktobewritten-up(Grant:PTA-026-27-
2086);andallparticipantsintheVisibleEnergyTrialformakingthisresearch
possible.
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1.Introduction:BackgroundtotheProject
InDecember2009,theUKDepartmentforEnergyandClimateChange(DECC)
announceditsintentiontoroll-outsmartmeters,accompaniedbyfreestandingreal-timedisplays,toallUKhouseholdersby2020.Aswellaspavingthewaytoa
smartergridabletohandlelargeamountsofmicro-generationandimproveddemand management, this decision is justified by the assertion that: These
meterswillprovideconsumerswithrealtimeinformationontheirelectricityuse
tohelp them control consumption, save moneyand reduce emissions (DECC,2009, 71).Previousstudies onthe provision of feedback toenergy consumers
supportthisassertion,suggestingitcanhelptorealisesavingsofbetween5and15%annually,dependingonthequalityandtypeoffeedbackprovided(Burgess
and Nye, 20082). Several large scale trials into the effectiveness of various
interventionsintodomesticenergyuseareongoing,suchastheEnergyDemandResearch Project in the UK (see OFGEM 20093) however, as yet very little is
knownabouttheprocessesthroughwhichthesekindsofsavingsareachieved.Katzev and Johnsons (1987) observation that our understanding of howfeedback does or does not work remains unexplored or untested (in Darby,
2006,7,emphasisinoriginal4)stilllargelyapplies.
BurgessandNye(2008)describedomesticenergyuseasdoubly-invisible.Itis
invisiblefirst,becausepeopleareunawareofhowmuchenergytheyuseoverall(e.g.itisobscuredbybillingandpaymentsystems)andsecond,becausetheydo
not know how the energy they use connects with different aspects of theirlifestyle(e.g.itisaninconspicuousformofconsumption).Enablingindividualsto
see and understand their energy use patterns is therefore seen as critical in
effortstoreduceenergyconsumptionoverallwhethermotivatedbyfinancialorenvironmentalreasons.Realtimedisplays,orsmartenergymonitors,attempt
toservepreciselythisfunctiontoprovideimmediatefeedbackandinformation
ontheirenergyuseinordertohelpthemreduceit.Understandinghowpeopleactuallyusethesedevicesandthefeedbacktheyprovide,howtheyrelatethisto
theireverydaylivesandpractices,andhow(orif)thisleadstochangesinenergyconsumptionpatternsrepresentthecoreconcernsofthispaper.
Throughout2008-2009,CarbonConnectionsinpartnershipwithGreenEnergyOptions(GEO),SysConsultingLtd,andtheSchoolofEnvironmentalSciencesat
theUniversityofEastAngliaranatrialof arangeof smartenergymonitoring
devicesin275householdsintheEastofEngland.AspartofthisVisibleEnergy
1DECC.2009.SmarterGrids:TheOpportunity.London,DepartmentofEnergyandClimateChange.2Burgess,J.,&Nye,M.2008.Re-materialisingenergyusethroughtransparentmonitoringsystems.EnergyPolicy,36,pp4454-44593OFGEM2009.EnergyDemandResearchProject:ReviewofprogressforperiodSeptember2008-March2009(Ref:115/09).London,OFGEM.4Darby,S.2006.TheEffectivenessofFeedbackonEnergyConsumption:AReviewforDEFRAoftheLiteratureonMetering,BillingandDirectDisplays.EnvironmentalChangeInstitute,
UniversityofOxford.
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Trial(VET),andinadditiontosocialsurveysatstrategicpointsthroughoutthe
trials duration, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with trialparticipantsinanattempttoaddresstheseconcerns.Thisreportfocusessolely
onexplicatingthefindingsoftheseinterviews.
1.1MethodologyandParticipants
Overall,theVETinvolved275householdsdividedintofourdistinctexperimentalgroups.Threeofthesegroups(thesolo,theduetandthetrio)haveaworking,
interactive display in their household. The fourth group has an advanced
monitoringsysteminstalledbutnointeractivedisplay.Thisgrouprepresentstheexperimentalcontrolgroup.Detailsofthedevicesbeingusedinthetrialareas
follows:
The Solo (n=75): The Solo device (see figure 1) is
designed around a car dashboard and offers amonochromatic display providing a speedometer
withinformationoncurrentlevelsofelectricityusage,
daily usageuptothe presentmoment (expressed inkWh, carbon dioxide emissions and sterling), and a
fuel tankwhichenableshouseholders toset adaily
budgetandwhichindicateswhetherthisisbeingmetor exceeded by displaying a tick or a cross symbol.
TheSoloalsocomeswithanSDcardenablinguserstouploadtheirdatatoGEOsMyEnergywebsitewhich
providesmore detailedgraphical information. In the
trial, the Solo has been administered to elderly andlow-incomehouseholds.
TheDuet(n=75):TheDuetdevice(seefigure2)ismoreadvancedthantheSolo.Theleft-handscreen
has the same functionality as the Solo. It thus
displays a speedometer of current and dailyusage, and a fuel tank. In addition, on the right
handscreen, the Duetmonitorsboiler usageand
up to 6 different appliances (appliances aremonitored separately using Plugbugs which
transmit levels of consumption to the Duet unit,andofwhich3aredeliveredwiththedevice).An
SDcardisalsoprovidedwiththedeviceforuseon
theMyEnergywebsite.
Figure2:TheDuet
Figure1:TheSolo
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TheTrio(n=76):TheTrio(seefigure3)hasafull
colour display with a very wide range ofmonitoringoptions.Itmonitorsheating,hotwater
usage,allelectricalcircuitsinthehome,andupto100 appliances (using Plugbugs ofwhich6 are
delivered with the device). Information can thenbe displayed graphically to investigate energyconsumptionpatternsinmoredetail.Forexample
displaying appliance usage over 24 hour or
monthly periods and in kWh, CO2 and Sterlingunits.Itshouldbenoted,however,thatduringthe
trialitselfparticipantswereprovidedwithasmallPClaptopandnotthedevicedisplayedinFigure3.
TheControl(n=49):TheexperimentalcontrolgrouphavehadtheTriodeviceinstalled in their home, which monitors their heating, hot water and all
appliances, howevertheyhavenot receivedthedisplayunit.Attheendofthetrialtheyhavebeenofferedareportintotheirenergyusepatterns.
For the qualitative interviews, a random sample, stratified according to thedevicebeingused,wasconducted toselect four interviewees fromeachofthe
solo, duet and trio groups, and three interviewees from the control group.
Summarydetailsofallintervieweesareprovidedintable1.
The interviews themselves lasted for between 30 and 60 minutes. Six were
conducted face-to-face with the interviewervisiting the participants homeorworkplace, and nine were conducted over the phone. During the interviews,
participantswereaskedtocommentonthefollowingthemes:
Howtheyhadgotinvolvedinthetrialandtheirmotivationsfordoingso. Howtheyhadusedandinteractedwiththedevice. If the device had affected their energy awareness orbehaviour, and in
whatways.
Anyrecommendationstohelpimprovethedevice.Theinterviewswerethentranscribedverbatim,andanalysedusingagroundedtheory approach (Charmaz 20065) to identify thedominant themes ineachof
thesecategories.Throughoutthisreport,quotationsareusedwidelytoillustrate
particular points. The individual quotations chosen are, in every case,representativeofthewiderthemeunderdiscussion.Theintentionbehindusing
lotsofquotationsisalsotoconveyastrongsenseofhowthesedevicesareused
inreal lifedomesticsettings.Crucially, throughoutthisreport,conclusions arebasedsolelyontheintervieweesselectedfromeachgroupandassuchshould
5Charmaz,K.2006.ConstructingGroundedTheory:Apracticalguidethroughqualitativeanalysis,
London,SAGEPublications.
Figure3:TheTrio
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IDa Group Gender No. of
householdoccupants
Ages of
permanentoccupants
Household
income(thousands)
Household
type
Ownership Year house
built
Months
using themonitor
S1 Solo M 2 61, 57 20-30 Bungalow Housingassociation
Pre-1964 3
S2 Solo F 2-4 60, 59 0-10 Semi-detached
Housingassociation
Pre-1964 1
S3 Solo M 2 73, 71 20-30 Detached Owner Pre-1964 2
S4 Solo M 2 61 10-20 Bungalow Housingassociation
1965-2001 3
D1 Duet M 4 37, 35, 8, 5 50+ Semi-detached
Owner Pre-1964 6
D2 Duet M 5 49, 48, 21,19, 16
50+ Detached Owner 1965-2001 4
D3 Duet M 2 60, 46 30-50 Detached Owner 1998 7
D4 Duet M 4 41, 39, 6, 3 50+ Terraced Owner 1890 7
T1 Trio F 2 57, 44 50+ Detached Owner 1965-2001 4
T2 Trio M 4 36, 36, 6, 2 50+ Semi-detached
Owner 1965-2001 12
T3 Trio M 1 29 30-50 Terraced Owner Pre-1964 9
T4 Trio M 1-4 37 0-10 Terraced Rental 2007 7
C1 Control M 2 45, 44 30-50 Detached Owner 1965-2001 12
C2 Control F 2 62, 61 20-30 Detached Owner 1965-2001 5
C3 Control M 2-8 54, 40 50+ Detached Owner Pre-1964 6
Table1:SummaryofInterviewees
aThroughoutthispaper,thisuniqueidentifierwillbeusedtolabelquotationsdrawnfromtheinterviews
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notbethesubjectofextensivegeneralisations.Withinthisreport,referenceto
all or to most users of a particular device therefore refers only to thoseinterviewed, and not toother triallists who were not interviewedor toother
usersofthedeviceswhoarenotparticipatinginthetrial.
Based onthisanalysis, thisreport isstructuredaround themajorparts oftheinterview. It is designed so that each section can be read and understoodindependently of all others. Next, section 2 will focus on participants
motivationsforgettinginvolvedinthetrial.Section3willdetailhowtheyhave
interacted with the device, including details on the installation and set-upprocess.Section4willfocusontheeffectsofthedevices:first,insection4.1,on
how the devices have influenced levels of energy awareness; and second, insection 4.2, on how the devices have changed patterns of energy use and
behaviour.Section5thendetailsthelimitationsparticipantshadexperiencedto
using the devices even further. In these sections, where relevant, cleardistinctions are drawnbetween eachof the Solo,Duetand Triodevices. Ifno
such distinction is made, this is because there was significant commonalityacrossparticipantsandalldevices.Finally,section6brieflyconcludesthereportbyhighlightingsomepotentialimplicationsforthewideruseofsuchdevices.
2.MotivationsforParticipatingintheTrial
Participants had heard about the VET through a variety of sources, including
seeing adverts in local newspapers, attending local energy fairs, throughtheirhousingauthorityrepresentative(particularlyforSolousers)andthroughword
ofmouth.Whenaskedtoreflectontheirmotives for participating in the trialfourdistinctcategoriesofmotiveweredescribed:cuttingcost,cuttingemissions,
gaininginformation,andinterestinthetechnology.Inmostcases,morethanone
motivewasoffered,forexamplemanyintervieweesarguedthatwhilstcuttingcosts was their primary motivation, if they could cut their emissions in the
process theywerehappy todoso. Although this sample is too small tomake
generalisations from, it did appear as if Solo users were more interested incutting costs, Duet users in cutting emissions, and Trio users in gaining
informationorlearningaboutthetechnologyitself.Furtherresearchisrequiredtoconfirmtheseobservations,butsuchresearchwouldappeartobe important
because,crucially,eachofthedifferentmotivesappearstoaffecthowthedevices
areusedandwhatchangestheybringaboutindifferentways,asthissectionwilloutline.
Perhapsthemostcommonlyofferedreasonforparticipatinginthetrialwastosavemoneybyreducingelectricitybills:
I have to be perfectlyhonest yeah, the cost of it, and if we can lower
thosecostsandinturnbyloweringourcostswearesavingenergy.(D4,
p3)
Ihavetosaymyprimarymotivationwasfinancial,Iwastryingtoreduce
mycosts.(T1,p1)
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ThismotivewasespeciallyapparentamongSolouserswho,whenrecruitedvia
theirhousingauthority,wereoftenexplicitlytoldthatparticipationinthetrialwouldhelpthemcuttheirbills.Thismotiveappearedtoaffectparticipantsby
encouragingthemtoseekbiggerchanges,andthereforebiggersavings,ratherthansmallerones:
onceweddonethat,gotridofthefreezerandalltheothereasythings,there were actually limits to what we could do with our behaviour,
becausethesethingswereallsavingpenniesreallyandIwantedtosave
poundsoreventensofpoundsreally.(T1,p2)
Asthisquotationillustrates,insomecasesacostmotivationappearedtomilitate
againstsmall behaviouralchanges liketurning lights off, and instead favouredeither the disposal of old inefficient, or the purchase of new, more efficient
appliances.Thisrunscountertomuchthinkingandpolicyonbehaviourchange,whichsuggeststhatsmallerchanges,orlowhangingfruit,shouldbetargeted
first.Further,thosewhoexpressedthismotivationalsorevealedhigherlevelsoffrustrationaspricesrose,andastheystruggledtosavefurther.
Theseconddominantmotivewasenvironmental,with participantswishing to
cuttheircarbonemissions:
attheendofthedayIthinkitisenvironmental.Youseethecostisnttoomuch of a problem cause we just pay it and thats what it is, but the
environmentalaspect ofit I thinkyeah,it isdefinitelyoneofthemajor
considerations.(T2,p1)
Whilsttheactionstakenbythisgroupofparticipantsinthehomedifferedlittle
fromthosewhoexpressedothermotivations,cruciallythiswasoneoftheonlygroupsofparticipantsforwhomenergysavingbehaviourappearedtospillover
beyond the domestic setting. For example, many of those who expressed anenvironmental motivation suggested they also tried to drive or fly less, had
bought smaller cars, or had attempted to encourage their friends, family or
colleaguestocutemissionsthemselves(seesection4.2.6).
The third and fourth motivations were less common, and expressed
predominantlybytheTriousersinterviewed.Here,theinterestappearedtobeingaininginformationonpatternsofenergyuse,orontryingoutthetechnology
itself. Inonecase,forexample,the participantwas trialling thedevice tohelpinformvarioustechnologicalprojectshewasinvolvedinatwork.
Tobe honest Iwas just interested to seehowthe thingworks. Itwascuriosity as much as anything else to get involved but it is interesting
literally just tothe silly things, you know,you stand therewith itand
turnthekitchenlightsonandoffandjustseehowitchanges.Icouldplayforhours.(D3,p2)
Itwasprimarilytechnicalunderstandingovercost.Itwastogivemethe
experienceinit,toaidmyjobrole,formewastheprimaryinterest(T3,
p5)
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Forthosewhoexpressedinterestingaininginformation,installingoneofthese
deviceswas oftenanupgradeonapreviousdevice.Similarly, severalofthosewho expressed this motive regularly took meter readings, which were often
alreadyplottedandanalysedinspreadsheetsinordertotracktheirusageandidentify potential savings. For this group, therefore, the devices were often
critiquedforthelevelofdetailedinformationtheyprovidedandtheiraccuracy.Alternatively,forthosewhowereinterestedinthetechnologyitself,thedevices,particularlytheTrio,wereoftencriticisedfortheiraestheticappearanceandfor
thedesignandlayoutoftheirdisplays.Severalwithinthisgroupcalledforthe
devicestobemorecustomisableenablingtheindividualtotailorittotheirhomeandusagepatterns.Further,thisgroupoftenexpressedadesireforthedevices
tobedevelopedsoastosupportfurtherhomeautomation,forexamplebyusingthedeviceasacentralcontrolhubthatcanautomaticallyswitchapplianceson
andoffaccordingtopresetschedules.
As mentioned above, most participants expressed several overlapping
motivations for participating in the trial. As such, there is noclear-cut dividebetweenthemotivationsoutlined.Whatthissectionsuggests,however,isthatthemanner in which the devices aremarketed and sold as cost cutters, as
emissionssavers,orasnewgadgetsmayhavesignificantimplicationsforhowthey are used, what effects they have, and how they should be developed in
future.
3.InteractionswiththeDevices
3.1InstallationandSetUp
TheSoloandDuetdevicesaredesignedtobeself-installed,however,intheVET,as the Solo was often administered through housing associations or local
authorities, Solo users were often given guidance and assistance in itsinstallation. The Trio demands professional installation byboth anelectrician
and anITspecialist.Whilst the installation and set-up ofthedevicesmightbe
seenasarelativelyinsignificantprocess,acrossallofthedevices,intervieweesregularly commented on how the installation and set-up process had shaped
theirperceptionsof,andinteractionwiththedevices.Thisfirstcontactwiththe
devicesthusappearstobecriticalfortheeffectstheyarelikelytohave.
Whentheinstallationprocesswasdonewell,participantsfelttheyunderstoodhowthedeviceworked,whatitcouldprovideinformationonandwhatitshould
be used for. Among those who considered themselves technically competent,
manyhadbeeninvolvedintheinstallationprocess,talkingtotheinstallersandeven,insomeinstances,askingformoreadvancedandpersonalisedset-upsfor
example,twooftheTriousersinterviewedhadsetupthedevicesotheycouldaccesstheirinformationremotelyviatheirownpersonalcomputers.Whenthe
installationprocesswasdone badly,however, participants feltfrustratedwith
the device, isolated from its workings and out of control of it. Some even
suggestedtheyalmostgaveuponit.
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Thisprocessdidappeartodifferslightlyacrossthedifferentdevices.Forthose
Solo users who had received assistance with installation, this was often anegativeexperience:
somegrumpyoldinstallerwhomutters,youknow,acoupleofstartling
bits ofnuclear science toyou. You know, thatplugs in there, thats forthat,heresthedisplay,yourcardandheresyourcardreader,bye-bye,Imgoingnow,IvegottodoanothertenmorebeforeIfinishatfive.(S1,
p28)
Thisparticipantwentontoexplainthathefeltonhisownwiththedevice,not
knowingwhattoexpectfromitorhowtogetthebestoutofit.Hecommented
thatwithouthisownlevelofcomputerliteracythedevicemaywellhavebeenleft unused. Whilst GEO were not responsible for the installation of the Solo
devices,thisdoessuggest that installers themselves should ideallybeengagedandenthusedbythedevicesinordertopassthisontotheirusers.AnotherSolo
useralsofeltthatmoreassistancewouldberequiredintheinstallationprocessforelderlyusersatwhomthedevicewas targetedin the trial.Toimprovetheprocess, as well as receiving more cheerful and forthcoming assistance, one
participantsuggested the need for a one-page idiots guide inaddition to thedetailedinstructionleaflet:
thehandbooksquitegoodbutagainitwantslikeaseparatelaminatedcardperhaps.Withanidiotsguideofwhatyouneedtodotogetresults.
(S1,p7)
Such a guide, he went on,would includedetails on how to set up thedevice,
wheretosituateit,andalsosomehintsandtipsonhowtoreduceenergyusage.
ForDuetusers,theinstallationprocesswasunanimouslydescribedasdifficult
and complex. In particular all Duet users interviewed had experienced someproblemswithpairingtheplugbugswiththedeviceitself:
IthinkitsagoodjobthatImreasonablytechnicallycompetentbecauseifImactuallyhonestwithyou,Tommyconcernwouldbethatsomebody
whoisntwouldntsetitupproperlycausewhenwefirstconnecteditfor
somereasontheunithadallsortsoftroublefindingitsotherunits.(D2,p4)
Another,whohadthesameproblem,foundultimatelythattheplugbugshada
relatively small range and therefore he was restricted as to where he could
situatethedeviceinhishome.Aswillbehighlightedlater, this isa potentiallyvitalshortcoming(seesection3.2.2).Here,theDuetusersinterviewedsuggested
thedeviceneededabuilt-infeedbacksystem,suchasaclickoralightcomingon,
toindicatewhentheplugbugshadsuccessfullypaired.
Some Duet users also commented that they had experienced considerabledifficultyininstallingtheheatingmonitor:
Iwastearingmyhairoutbytheend.Imnormallyprettygoodatthese
things.Wellthefirstdifficultywasgettingtheboilercentrehookeduptotheboilerbecausemyboilerpipesarentexposed.Ihadtodrillholesin
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the side of theboiler to get thewires throughand I had to take out a
kitchencupboardIwasdeterminedtogetittowork,butIwasontheborderlineof just saying lets forget this thing, I cantbebothered, and
thenthepairingprocessbetweenthebugsandthethingwasjustawful.(D1,p8-9)
Toimprovethisprocess,oneDuetusersuggestedhavinganinstallationguidethat included real-life pictures of what the system looks like when set up
correctly. In general, however, it was felt that a certain level of technical
sophisticationandcompetencewasrequiredtoinstalltheDuetdeviceandthatthose who did not possess thismay well have given up before they started.
Whilsttheseproblemswerenottheresultoftechnicalfaultsasalldeviceswereeventually successfully installed, itdoessuggestaneed toconsiderthe clarity
andlevelofdetailoftheinstallationinstructions,andaneedforfurthersupport
ifnecessary.
FortheTriousersinterviewed,incontrast,theinstallationprocesswasgenerallyverypositive.Asnotedabove,severalTriointervieweeshadquitehighlevelsoftechnical expertise and, in these cases, they often became involved in the
installationprocessaskingquestionsabouthowthedeviceworksandhowtheycouldgetthebestoutofit:
Imanosy,inquisitive,talkativecharacter,youknow?IfsomeonecomesintomyhousetodoworkIwanttoknowwhattheyredoing,whytheyre
doingit,howitsgoingtowork?Ifsomeonewantstotalktomycomputer,
nowthen!Ineedalotofinformation.Mycomputerismylife!SoIwashaving very good conversations. Again understanding the computer
background allowed me to converse quite happily to the IT person.HavingalittlebitofunderstandingaboutelectricsIwasabletotalktothe
electricalperson and understandingwhatwas goingon. SoIwas lucky
thatIwasabletoengageintheprocess.(T4,p6)
Asmentioned,intwocases,Triousershadpersonalisedthesystemsotheycould
access their informationremotely, they both commented that this had been averypositiveaspectofthetrialandcentraltohowtheyhadusedthedevices.
Asthissectionhashopefullyshown,theinstallationandsetupprocedure,whilst
seeminglyinsignificantincomparisontohowthedeviceislaterused,isinfacta
criticalmoment.Itisatthispointoffirstcontactthatarelationshipisestablishedbetweentheuserandthedevicethatislikelytoshapetheirperceptionsofit,and
influencehowtheyactontheinformationitprovidesthem.
3.2Whatfeaturesofthedeviceshaveparticipantsused?
3.2.1SoloUsage
The Solousers interviewed spokeofusingthe device intwomajorways.Thefirst,andmostcommon,wastousethedevicetoreflectimmediatelyoncurrent
levelsofenergyconsumptionandtotakeactiononitquickly.Here,however,theSolousers interviewed did not appear touse the speedometer sectionof the
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device,whichindicatescurrentconsumption,butinsteadpreferredtomaketheir
decisionsbasedonthefueltankdisplayandwhetherornotthetickorcrosssymbolwerebeingshown:
Wellwhenwerecookingorleavingthingsonandyoucanactuallypush
abuttontoshowtheusageandthatactuallyshowatickontheunitthatifyoure incredit onthe day. Sowerelooking at thatyou know,at leasteverydayorseveral timesaday. Ifyou get a cross thatmeansyouve,
youveusedyourcreditup.ImeanIthinkweredowntoIthink10,Ithink
10or12kilowattsaday.(S4,p9-10)
In this respect, the Solo interviewees did not appear too interested in the
absoluteamountsofelectricitytheywereusing,butinwhetherornottheywereincreditaccordingtothebudgettheyhadinitiallysetthemselves.Severalofthe
Solousersinterviewedusedfinancialmetaphorstodescribethisprocess,suchasbeingintheredortheblack.Asmentioned,manyofthisgroupofparticipants
wereonlowincomes,thereforesuchfinancialcalculationsarepotentiallyverycommon. Whilst this would appear to illustrate that the devices are beingeffectivelyused,thepotentialstressandstrainthisplacesonlow-incomeusers
as they can literally watch their money being spent, should not beunderestimated(seesection5.1).
ThesecondmajorwayinwhichSolointervieweestalkedofusingthedevicewasless immediate and more conscious and considered. Here, they discussed
prioritizing,forwardplanningandreviewingtheirelectricityusageeitheron
adailyorweeklybasis:
itmakesmethinkbackduringthedayastowhatweveprobablyuseditfor,andforinstanceoneofthethingsIhavenoticedisthetumbledrier,whichwehaveusedonortwoorwetdaystodryquitealotofwashing
and pushed it up quite a lot. I think we are becoming more aware ofwheretheenergyisbeingused.(S3,p6)
[Mypartner]doesacheckweeklytoseelikeIsaidif,youknow,ifweveusedmorethisweekthanwedidthepreviousweekorwhateverorifa
certainday.Thenhewillactuallysortofsay,wellwhydidweusemoretoday?,andthenwell,youknow,thenhellsay,wellIknowwhybecause
wereoutforhalftheday,youknow,andthingslikethat.(S4,p8)
This form of usage involves more conscious and rational discussions about
energyusepatternsandhowtheymightbechangedinfuture,incontrasttothe
previousmoreimmediateandreactiveform.
What was notable across both of these forms of use, however, was that no
intervieweesappearedtobeconcernedbythecurrentusagefiguresdisplayedonthespeedometerpartoftheSolodevice.Wherethiswasused,itwasinorder
to understand not their absolute levels of electricity consumption, but howgreedyparticulardomesticapplianceswere.Here, severalcommented on the
suddenrealisationthatthekettle,thetumbledryer,oranoldfridge-freezerused
significantamountsofenergy.ManySolouserssaidtheywishedtheycouldget
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moreinformationonspecificapplianceswithonespecificallycallingforaDuet-
typesystem.
Withregardstotheoverallfrequencyofuse,alloftheSolousersmentionedthat
theyhaduse thedevicemorewhenthey firstgot it, but crucially theyall also
emphasisedthattheycontinuedtouseitregularly:
I wouldn't say it hasn't been a novelty, you know, when it was first
installedweuseditmorefrequentlythanwedoatthemoment,butdaily
nowwedoactuallyusethedevice.(S1,p10)
Tworeasonsappeartohavebeencentraltothiscontinuedusageofthedevice.
First, Solo interviewees praised the aestheticsofthe device. Inparticular theymentionedthatthecolourdisplaywaseye-catchingandencouragedimmediate
action:
Thisoneisactuallybacklitwithcolours.Soit'smorestrikingandyoufeel
likeyougottodosomethingabouttheproblemthatispresentedforyou.(S1,p11)
Inaddition,theseaestheticsencouragedtheSolousersinterviewedtosituatethedevicesinprominentlocationsnormallyinthekitchenwheremanyappliances
are used,but occasionally inhallways orlounges,dependingonwhere peoplespentmosttimeorpassedthroughfrequently.AllSolointervieweesemphasised
thevitalimportanceofsituatingthedeviceappropriatelysoitwasinyourface:
ratherthanoutofsightoutofmind,itneedstobeinapositionwhere
youcantmissit.(S1,p24)
Theguywhocomeround,whofitteditforus,askedwherewewantedit
andwedefinitelysaidthekitchen,andnotbecausetherewasaplugthere,
but simply becausewe usemore power in the kitchen than anywhereelse.Sowedecidedthat,youknow,whenthefridgecameonyoucanlook
andseehowfaritwouldgoupandthenwhenyouputthedryeronandthingslikethat.Nowitdefinitelyneedstobeneartheappliancesthatyou
usethemost.(S4,p26)
Thiswas a common themethroughoutall of the interviews for all devices. In
orderforthemtobeeffective,theyhavetobeused,andinorderforthemtobe
used they have to be aesthetically suitable to be situated wherever the userthinkstheyaremostappropriateandcanhavethebiggestimpact:
Itsagoodthingtohaveaslongasitsused.IfitisntusedImeanyou
mightaswelljustplugapieceofcardboard inandstand itthere,cause
thatwoulddothesamejobreally.(S4,p19)
Interestingly, given the level at which participants were able to discuss how
theydusedthedevicesandhowtheyshouldbeused,whenfirstaskedmostSolointerviewees commented that they hadnt used the device much at all. The
followingquotationsaretypical:
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Interviewer (I): Ifyou couldexplainhowyou've used the device since
yougotit,youknow?Respondent(R):Inawordwehavent.Theonlyusewe'vemadeofit,asI
say,isseeingthecross.Switchingmorelightsofformoreappliancesoff.Ifweseethelevelindicatorsayingthumbsup,weredoingallright.Andif
we get the tick well, we're doing famously well, you know, well giveourselvesapatontheback.(S1,p8)
Wellwehaventreallythoughtaboutitreally,youknow,itsnodifferent
fromwhenwedidnthaveit,youknow.(S2,p6)
Whenpushedtothinkmorecarefullyabouthowthedevicewasused,however,
thereasonsoutlinedabovewereexplained.Whatthisimplies,isthatusageofthedevices had become almost sub-conscious and habitual. Several Duet
intervieweessuggestedthatthedeviceworkedinthecornerofyoureyeratherthan taking ones full attention, and several Solo interviewees commented on
developingnewroutinesforswitchinglightsandappliancesoffbasedontheirinteractionswiththedevice.This,potentially,indicatesthatthedevicesmayleadtolong-termandlastingchangesinbehaviour.Confirmingthissuggestionwould
requirefurtherlongitudinalresearchhowever.
3.2.2DuetUsage
Asmentionedabove,theleft-handscreenoftheDuetdeviceisexactlythesameastheSolodevice.Asmighthavebeenexpected,therefore,usageoftheleft-hand
screenwasthesameaswasfoundwiththeSolodevice.Again,theDuetusers
interviewed had focused on the fuel tank and tick and cross symbols inpreferencetothespeedometershowingcurrentanddailyusage.Indeed,some
Duet intervieweeswent furtherto argue that thespeedometerdial, indicating
currentanddailyusage,wasnotparticularlyhelpful:
Iguessthats21psofartoday,butthatnumberreallyisntbigenough.Ithinkitneedstobeabiggernumbertoactually,youknow,worrypeople
intocauseyouseethatanditsays3pandyourelikeokay,thats3p.2p
anhour,thatsalright,themonthlyandtheannualnumbersaregoodforgivingpeopleashock.(D1,p22)
Thecurrentusagefigureswerethereforecriticisedasbeingtoolowtoencourageany action. At the same time, this same intervieweealso commented that the
monthlyorannualusageforecasts,whichbecomeenormouswhenthekettleortumbledrierisbeingused,areunrealisticandthereforeunhelpful.Again,aswith
theSolousers,whatDuetintervieweesappearedtofindmostinterestingabout
thedevicewaswhatittoldthemaboutspecificappliances(seebelow).
Some of the Duet users interviewees had become involved in the trial for
predominantly environmental reasons. As such, they were more able tocommentontheeffectivenessoftheCO2figuresinencouragingaction.Across
theboard, however, theCO2 figureswereseenasmeaninglessand difficult to
relatetoeverydaypractices:
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IguessthatskilogramsofcarbonbutIcantrelatetothat.Idontknow
whatthatmeans.YouknowIcould,wellIdoknowwhatitmeansbut,youknow,itjustlookslikeanumbertome.(D1,p22)
Atthesametime,oneDuetusercriticisedthekilowatt-hourreadingsasbeing
too abstract. Here it was suggested that cost was the best and easiest tounderstandmeasureofconsumption:
A kilowatt hour to most people is an abstract figure, isnt it,whereas
poundsandpence,youknowwhatyourespending.(D3,p5)
Evencost,however,wasnotwithoutitsproblemsasseveralinterviewees,across
alldevices,commentedthattheyhadstruggledtoprogramthedevicetogiveanaccurateestimateoftheirbill,eitherbecausetheirtariffinvolvedmorethanone
chargingratewhichtheydidnotknowhowtoprogramintothedevice,becausethey were unaware of what they were being charged, or because the prices
change too rapidly. Several suggested that the device should have the majortariffsfromthemajorelectricitysupplierspre-programmedintoitandupdatedremotelyasameansofimprovingtheaccuracyofthereadings.
Theright-handscreenoftheDuetgivesfurtherinsightsastohowusersinteractwiththedevices.Universally,theheatingmonitorwasseenasconfusing.Whilst
allintervieweespraisedthedevicesattempttooffersomeindicationofheating,theyallfeltthatthemannerinwhichthiswasdisplayed(asapercentageofthe
amountoftimetheboilerhadbeeninoperationoverthelastquarterhour)was
irrelevant:
Theothersideofittobehonesthasbeenabitofawasteoftimebecause
knowing the percentage time that a boiler is running doesnt, yeah, itdoesntturnintotherealworldagainunfortunately.(D2,p6-7)
theheatingsideofitisalittlebitoddandItrytowrapmyheadaround.
Itstheideaofhowmuchtheheatingsbeenoninthelast,itdoesitevery
quarterofanhourorsomething,I cantremember,whichis abitodd.Iwouldhave thought they do it over the 24-hour period, stuff like how
muchyourheatinghasbeenasapercentageoftheday.SoIfindthatonea
bitoddtosortof,okay,whatdoesthattellme?(D4,p14)
Toimprovethispartofthedevice,oneparticipantsuggesteddisplayingagraphtocompareindoortemperatureswithcost:
Idlovetohaveanoutsidetemperaturecomparedto,orevenaninsidetemperature compared with the cost. I think if there was an inside
temperature to a cost graph, people might dawn on them that if they
dropped the temperatureone degree and saved thatmuch, theymightendupsaving.Justathought.(D2,p11)
The important aspect of such a suggestion, and this was true across all
participants for all measurements (whethercost,CO2 orkWh) onall devices,
wastorelatethemeasurementstoreallife.
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Incontrasttotheheatingindicator,theappliancebarsontheright-handscreen
oftheDuetweregenerallyfelttobeveryclearandsuccessfulandwerewidelyused.Aswith the Solodevice, intervieweesappearedto bemoreinterested in
what the device could tell them about particular appliances than overall orabsolutelevelsofelectricitybeingused.
[My family] have a much greater understanding of appliances energyconsumption now, and thats modified that has modified their
behaviour,theresnotwowaysaboutit.Imeanmysonnowhasfinally
caughtonwhymicrowavesareactuallyquiteagoodideajustintermsofthespeedofcooking,loweramountintermsofenergysaving,theydont
alwaysproducegreatfoodbutactuallyintermsofenergysavingtheyrearealboonandthingslikethat.(D2,p14-15)
Iwanted toseewhat effect [my computing equipment]had onsort ofoverall usage and stuff like that and to pick them out as individual
segmentsofourelectricityusewasquitegood(D4,p12)
Theplugbugswere thuswidelypraisedasoneof thebestfeaturesof theDuet
deviceandindeedtherewasademandformoreplugbugsfrombothDuetand
Trio interviewees. Participants had used a range of different strategies forsituatingtheirplugbugs.Somehadputthemondeviceswhichtheyfeltthathad
some discretion over and could therefore reduce their usage. For example,puttingaplugbugonthekettle alloweda usertoidentifywhatdifferencewas
made by only boiling as much water as was needed. Others had used the
plugbugstomonitorthe appliances they feltwouldhavethebiggest load,andstillothershadusedthemondevicesoverwhichthey felt theyhadnocontrol
suchasthefridgeorfreezer.Here,thelogicwasthatbyusingaplugbugonthesedevices,theirusagecouldbesubtractedfromtheoverallusagedisplayedonthe
left-hand screen of the Duet. In general, once this logic had been arrived at,
intervieweeshadnotchangedthelocationoftheplugbugsduringthetrial.
The plugbugs did draw several critical comments, however. One participant
notedthattheyweretoolargeandthereforecouldnotbeneatlyplacedbehindlargeapplianceslikefridgesorwashingmachines.Anotherwasfrustratedthat
theplugbugsdidnotappear towork effectivelyor fora long timewhenusingrechargeablebatteries.Theuseofalkalibatteriesinthesedeviceswasthenseen
topartlyoffsettheenvironmentalgainderivingfromusingthedevice.Thereis,
however,someapparentconfusionhereastohowtheplugbugsoperateastheyare in fact mains powered.This confusion couldperhaps be avoided through
more engaging and inclusive installation procedures and instructions. Further
still,oneusercalledfortherangeoftheplugbugstobeimproved.Here,hehadbeenforcedtosituatehisdeviceoutofthewayinorderforittofunctionwhich,
he felt,had impaired its effectiveness. Finally,one participantargued that theDuetwas internally inconsistent that the usageof the devicesmonitored by
plugbugsdidnotalwayscorrespondtotheoverallusagelevelsdisplayedonthe
left-handscreen:
Ivenoticed alsothatthe readingthat itgives youkindofheredoesnt
alwaysadduptothereadingsyougetfromtheplugbugs.Sometimestheplugbugs say youre using 200 watts and the reading here says youre
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using180wattsintotaloverthewholehousesoyouknowthatmustbe
wrong.(D1,p13-14)
Suchsmallinaccuracieshadledintervieweesacrossalldevicestolosefaithand
thereforepotentiallyharmthedevicesoveralleffectiveness.
Another feature of the Duet and the plugbugs is to enable users to switchappliances off remotely. This feature, however, had been little used by those
interviewed.Twomentioned thattheyhaduseditat first,but that ithadthen
caused confusion among other household members about how to turnappliancesonagain:
BeforewegotthekillplugsIuseditatnighttoturnoffeverythinginthelivingroombutthefamilycouldntworkouthowtoturnitbackonagain
inthemorning.(D2,p12)
theability todo the switching offwith the plugswas quitehandy,but
thenIfoundoutthatmydaughtercantreallyunderstandthatIvegottoswitchitonthere,Ivegottopressthatforthreeseconds.Soitsnegated,
allsortofstrangethings(D4,p2)
Accordingly,inbothcasesusageofthisfeaturehadceased.
Withregardstooverallfrequencyofusage,theDuetperformedinthesamewayastheSolo.All interviewees commented that theyd looked atitmorewhen it
hadfirstarrived,butthatthishadnowsettleddownintoregularandrepeatedpatterns:
Iprobablyuseditmorewhenwefirstgotitandtriedtobecauseatthetimewhen you first get these things youre trying tounderstandwhat
differencesyoucanmakeandwhatchangesyoucanmakeandyouthink
wellifIswitchthisoffdoesthatmakeadifference,butthenyoukindofget into, you develop your habits around that. You develop habits to
switchthingsoffandkeepthelightsoffandthenyoudontneedtolookatitsomuch.(D1,p13)
I still sort of check it and fiddle with it and see, you know, whatdifferencethingsmake.Imeanobviouslytheresonlyacertainamountof
lights and things you can turn off, arent there, but yeah, I dont know
whetheritsbecauseI'vegotintothehabitofdoingitafterlearningittostartwithorif becauseseeing the thingtherestill keepsremindingme
butyeah,Idostilldoit.(D3,p7)
Again, Duet interviewees suggested that the aesthetics of the device were
importanttoitscontinuedusage,andagaintheyemphasisedtheimportanceofsituatingitappropriatelyinorderthatitisregularlyseenandused:
We stuckit inthe hall. I thinkthe biggestmistakeyou couldprobablymakeisstickitsomewherewhereitwouldntgetseenorsomewhereitis
onlyseenbytwoorthreemembersofthefamily.Wedeliberatelyputitin
thehallandpointeditatthefrontdoorsoanyonecominginimmediately
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sayswhatsthat?Everybodydoesandyousayitstheenergymeterand
thenthatstartsaconversation,itkeepsitfrontofthemind.(D2,p10)
This participant went on to describe this as the nag factor. He saw it as
absolutelycentraltothedeviceseffectivenessthatitwaswellsituatedsuchthat
itcouldberegularlyinteractedwith.Asthetwopreviousquotationssuggested,by interacting with the device regularly, usershad developed new habits androutinesandthissuggeststhatthedevicesmayhavelastingeffects.
WhilsttheseaspectsoftheDuetwerepraised,someintervieweesdidsuggestitcouldbefurtherimproved.Thestandonwhichitsitswascriticisedasextremely
basicandsomethingthatregularlyfallsapartwhenthedeviceismoved.Given
theimportanceplacedontheaestheticsofthedevicethiscouldpotentiallyproveto be a critical weakness. Participants also emphasised that they wished the
devicewasmoreportablestressing, for example,that the limited rangeof theplugbugs(beyondwhichtheycouldnolongertransmitinformationtotheDuet
unit)wasseenasalimitingfactortofurtherusage:
youdohavetolookoverherepurposefully tolookatit,youdontjust
catch it out of the corner of your eye. It would be nicer to have it
somewheremoreprominentinthekitchen,eitherbythefrontdoororonone of thewalls or something.I wish it had a longer range so that it
wouldworkanywhereinthehouse.IwishIcouldunplugitandtakeitaroundwithme,causethenIcouldtakeituptobedandwecouldswitch
offall the lightsandwecouldactuallycheck,youknow,areweokayor
not?MyoldonewasbatterypoweredandIcouldcarrythataroundandthatwasmuchmoreuseful.(D1,p13-14)
In summary, the Duet device was widely praised and was perhaps the mostsuccessful of all devicesused inthe trial. Asthis sectionhas shown, however,
thereremainseveralwaysinwhichitcouldbeimprovedtoencouragewideruse.
3.2.3MyEnergyWebsiteUsage
Asmentionedabove,theSoloandDuetdevicescomeequippedwithanSDcardthatstorestheusersdatasothatitmaybeuploadedtotheMyEnergywebsite.
Onceuploaded, thedatacan thenbedisplayedgraphicallyin arangeof forms
enabling the user tosee, for instance, the monthlyusagepatternsofdifferentappliances.TheMyEnergywebsiteunfortunatelyonlybecameavailable foruse
whentheinterviewsforthisreportwerebeingconductedand,assuch,ithadnotbeenusedbymostSoloandDuetusers interviewed. Amongthe fewwhohad
usedit,however,itprovokedquitedifferentopinions.
Firstandforemost,amongthosewhohadusedit,itwasfeltthatuploadingones
datawasarelativelyeasyandpain-freeprocessaslongastheuserpossesseda
basiclevelofcomputerliteracy:
ifyoucanworkacomputerthere'snoproblem[re:uploadingdatafrom
theSDcard].Therearepeoplewhohavegotcomputers,justthesimplestofthings,theydhavetothinkaboutitbecauseyouvegottodownloada
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programme,youknow,aloaderbutoncethat'sdoneImeanjustpopyour
cardinthecardreader,whichissupplied,andpopitinanddownloaditandthat'sdone.(S4,p15-16)
Here,someintervieweeshadmentionedthatthewebsitehadaskedthemfora
username,passwordorserialnumberwhichinmanycasestheydidnotpossess.Toreiterateapointmadeearlier,thesemomentsoffirstcontactbetweenusersand the devices (and theirassociatedwebsites) are potentially critical if such
featuresaretobewidelyused.
Once data had been uploaded however, interviewees differed in what they
thoughtthewebsiteofferedthem.Onementionedthathiswholefamilyhadhad
ananalysistalkbasedaroundthegraphsthewebsiteoffered:
Wevebeenabletolookatit,andnowofcourseyoulookatitandyougoguys,lookatthis,justhavealookatthisasecondbecausethatsweek1,
thatsweek2andthatsweek3,lookatthattheresomeoneslefttheovenon andwe candrill into that day and I could tell you that somebodysturned the oven on to cook something and then gone off and played
FootballManagerfortwohours.Sowevebeentwoburning2.2kilowatts
fortwohoursthere.(D2,p9)
As is indicated by this quotation, this processhad helped thewhole family toreviewtheirelectricityusageoveraparticulartimeperiodandtoidentifyareas
whereelectricitywasbeingwastedandcouldpotentiallybesaved.Bycontrast,
otherusersfeltthatthewebsiteofferedlittlethattheydidnotalreadyknow:
IhadabrieflookatthegraphsthatitproducedandIwasntparticularly
impressedattheamountofinformationthere.IdidntfindoutanythingnewforexamplebylookingatthegraphsandIwouldhavelikedtohave
foundoutsomethingforexampleitcouldhavetoldmeonaveragehowmanykilowattsdoesmyfreezeruseeveryday?Howmanyhasitusedso
farintheyear?AndIdidntfindthatkindofinformation.AllIfoundwasa
graphwith, you know, up and down, kind of as it cycles, you know. IlookedatthehourlygraphanditwasjustlikeasawtoothandIthought
wellyeah,thefridgeswitchesonandoff.Bigdeal.Ialreadyknewthat.(D1,p14-15)
Severalintervieweesexpressedasimilarviewhere,asdidTriointerviewees(seesection 3.2.4). What they called for in addition to what the website already
offered,was improvedannotationof the graphs soitwasveryclearwhatwas
being displayed, the ability to drill down into each of the graphs in orderinvestigate particular appliances over particular time periods, and most
crucially, several called for the ability toexport theirdata intoExcelorotherspreadsheet formats in order that they could manipulate and analyse it
themselves.Thisfinalsuggestionwasparticularlyvoicedbythosewhohadbeen
motivatedtoparticipateinthetrialoutofadesiretogetmoreinformation.Manyalreadykeptspreadsheetscontainingalogoftheirmeterreadingsandassuch
thewebsitewouldhavetobequiteadvancedtohavesignificantaddedvalue.
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Theinformationavailable throughthewebsitethusdividedopinion.Whereall
website users were agreed, however, was that the design and layout of thewebsiteingeneralshouldbeimproved:
Its[thewebsite]justlikesomebodyhashadasparefiveminutesintheir
break andtheyveknocked thisthing together calledadashboard.(S1,p31)
3.2.4TrioUsage
TheTrio,atleastinitstrialformasasmallPCcomputerratherthanthedevicedisplayedinFigure3,isaverydifferentdevicefromtheSoloandtheDuetand,
as such, displayed some different patterns of use. Notably, one interviewee
suggestedthat thelevel ofdetailedinformationofferedby theTriodemandedsomedowntimeinordertobefullycomprehended.Thissuggeststhat,unlike
theSoloandDuet,theTriodemandsmoreactiveandconsciousinvolvementandinitscurrentformisperhapsnotsoeffectiveforcorneroftheeye,unconscious
engagement.
AswiththeSoloandDuet,allTriousersinterviewedcommentedthattheyhad
usedthedevicealotatfirst.Thisdespitethefactthatseveralhadbeenexplicitly
toldbytheinstallertoleavethedeviceforaweekortwotoallowittobuildupsomedataandstartdisplayinginformation.Again,liketheSoloandDuet,Trio
intervieweesweremostinterestedinwhatthedevicetoldthemaboutspecificappliancesratherthantheinformationitofferedonoveralllevelsofuse:
Ivebeeninterestedinhowitmonitorstheappliances,thatswhatIvefoundmostinterestingandinfactonethingIwouldsayisthatyouneed
moreplugbugswithit.ItcomeswithsixbutreallyIthinkitshouldbe10
orevenmore,youshouldbeabletomonitoreverythingallthetime.(T1,p2)
Here,again,theinformationonCO2emissionswasdismissedasmeaningless:
I:IstheCO2somethingyouveusedornotreally?R: Absolutely meaningless to me. What am I meant to do with that
information?...Ifsomeoneturnedaroundandsaid,youknow,tenunitsof
CO2means youve got to plant a tree, great, tell me that and I can dosomethingaboutit,butwhatdoesthismean?...Youjustneedtobeableto
have a relationship as to what everything actually means. If you can
convertwhatCO2 actuallymeans tosomebodyif theres a link tosay,youknow,thisisforsomebodywhoisveryenvironmentallyfriendly,you
know,youhaveusedXamountofCO2,wouldyouliketopaysomuchtooffsetyourCO2usage,thenthatmightwellhelpsomepeoplemayfeel
goodaboutthatsortofthing.(T4,p11)
Instead, users preferred to use cost estimates even though, again, they
recognised that the cost figures were not entirely accurate because they had
either not entered their tariff, or because they tariff had two rates andwereunawareofhowtoprogramthisintothedevice.
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WithregardstohowtheTriowasused,againthereweretwobasictypesofuse:
i) an immediate reaction to the data being displayed, or ii) more consideredreviewandplanningprocessbasedontheinformationprovided.Inbothcases
though,theTriofaredlesswellthaneithertheSoloortheDuetamongthisgroupofinterviewees.Withregardstoimmediateusage,oneusertermedthisusingit
hot, which referred to seeing how much electricity was being used at thatmoment in time and then immediately going round to turn off lights andappliancesinordertoreduceconsumptionlevels.Anotheruser,however,argued
thattherealtimefeedbackoftheTriodevicewastooslow,andthusfailedto
providetheimmediateprompttotakeaction:
if its the actual real time consumption, as and then, then you wouldexpectittodothatandthatsthefunthingbecauseifyougointothefront
roomwevegot200,400-wattlampsontheceiling,ceiling lamps, soas
soonasyouturnthemonyoudexpectittoreallyrampup,butyoudontseeanyofthat.(T2,p6)
Inthisrespect,aswellasinsomeothers(seebelow),theTriowasseentolackthenagfactor.
The second major way in which the Trio was used by interviewees, was tosupportor justifyparticulardecisions,forexample, toreplaceoldappliances.
Here, however, theTrio fared lesswell thanthe SoloorDuetontwogrounds.First,thosewhoweremotivatedtotakepartinthetrialandhadsignedupfor
theTriobecause theywished formore informationontheirusage, foundthat
theystillhadinsufficientinformationonparticularappliances.Inparticular,theyexpressedfrustrationthatinformationontheabsolutelevelsofconsumptionof
new appliances was not easily available, that information on the embeddedcarbon innew appliances was not available, or that theywere still unable to
comparetheirownconsumptionwith otherhouseholds in theirarea andthus
didnotknowiftheywereperformingwellorbadly.WhilsttheseissuesarenotnecessarilyshortcomingsoftheTriodevice,theywereexpectationsoftheTrio
userswhich the device did not apparently fulfil.The secondway inwhichthe
Triofaredlesswellwasbecauseitslevelsofusagedroppedoffsignificantlyovertime. Several reasons were offered for this and these will be outlined in the
followingparagraphs.
WheretheSoloandDuetdeviceshadbeenusedheavilyatfirstbutthishadlater
fallen to less frequent, but still regular usage, for all Trio users interviewed,usagehadbeenheavy atfirst buthad thensignificantly tailed off andhad not
been sustained ata regular level. The primary reason for this appeared tobe
aesthetic.Asmentioned,ratherthanthetouch-screendigitalpictureframetypedisplayshowninfigure3,TriotriallistsweregivenasmallnetbookPCcomputer.
Allintervieweescommentedthattheyweredissatisfiedwithitsappearance:
thevery fact that its the PCand not the [originallyadvertiseddevice]
makesabigdifferenceinmyopinionintermsoftheusagebecausethatgetsstuckonashelfanditsnotasusablewhereasifitwaspinnedtothe
wallinmykitchenorsomewhereitsmorevisible.(T3,p7)
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I was pretty, you know, unimpressed because its PC-based, but, you
know, I kind of expected it to some degree, you know, maybe 10%expectedit,90%Iwashopingitwasgoingtobethefullsystem.(T2,p5)
Several interviewees described the PC display as ugly and, as the following
quotationindicates,overtimethisledtothedevicebeinghiddenawayandgoingunused:
ItwasontopoftheTVforthefirsttwotothreemonthsIguess,maybea
littlebitlonger,then[mywife]decidedwedhaveareorganisesothenitgetsputdownontoalowershelfatthefront,thenitsopenedupandthen
shesslowlyclosedthelid,shedoesthatacoupleoftimes.Thensheputs
itatthebackandyoudontseeanythingandallofasuddenitsoutoftheway.Butifitwasastandalonedevicewhichyoucouldquiteeasilyputon
topof theTV or even onto thewall, then thatwouldmake things a lotbetter.(T2,p6)
Two Trio interviewees didmention that theyhad continued touse thedeviceregularly, but inboth of these casesa high levelof technical competence had
allowedthemtoconfigurethedevicesothattheycouldaccesstheirinformation
ontheirowncomputerseitheratworkorathome.Inthesecases,theaestheticsofthenetbookPCbecameirrelevant.Toimproveonthissituation,severalTrio
interviewees suggested making information more easily available on homecomputersoroninternetenabledtelevisions.Anothersuggestedhavingaseries
ofslavedevices,muchliketheSoloorDuet,whichcouldbesituatedaroundthe
homesoastoincreasethenagfactor.
ThesecondreasonthattheTriodevicedidnotmaintainlevelsofusewasdowntoitsreliability.TwoTriointervieweescommentedthatwhentheyhadchangedtheirhomebroadbandsetup,theTriodevicehadstoppedrecordingdatafora
period.Inonecase,inordertostartthedeviceagainithadhadtoberemovedfromthekitchenandplacedinanupstairsstudyinorderthatitcouldbecloser
tothebroadbandrouter.Theseglitcheshadledtoalossofinterestinthedevice,
alossoffaithinitsreliability,andultimatelytoareductioninitsuse:
Theunreliabilityhasmademeloseinterestinitsomewhat,youknow,ifitsnotworkingyoujustdontlookatitasmuch,soyouloseinterest.Ido
think,ifIhadonepieceofadviceonthesethings,isthatitreallyneedsto
beaccessible.ImeanmyhousehasfunnywiringandmyrouterisupstairssoInowhavetohavethedeviceupstairs,butitdoesmeanIdontuseitas
often.Imeanthelittlenotebookisreallyinterestingandquiteeasytouse,
butitsashameitsnowsomewherewhereIdontseeitallthetime.(T1,p1-2)
ToimprovethissituationseveralTriointervieweescalledforoccasionalemail
reminders telling them tocheckonthe device.One suggested thesewouldbe
veryhelpfuliftheywereabletodetectwhenusagehadsignificantandunusuallyrisenastheywouldhelpinidentifyingwastemorequickly.Anotherusercalled
forthedevicestobemademoreinteractive:
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It couldbemore interactive. One thing, which wouldbenice, is if the
systemhadamotioneye,amotiondetector,okay.Itsjustasimplething.Basicallyifyouwalkintoyourroom,oryouwalkintoaroom,itwillgive
youtheupdatefortheday.(T2,p8)
Suchsuggestionswouldnotbeuniversallywellreceived,butmightimprovethenagfactoroftheTriodeviceforsome.
Whenaskedwhichgraphsandinformationtheyhadfoundmostinterestingand
useful,allTriointervieweesdescribedthegraphicaldisplaysasconfusing.ThefollowingquotationdetailsausertryingtoexplainthedatatheTriooffersand
wastypicaloftheTriointervieweesexperiences:
Okay.Sowhatwehaveappliances,wehavethesecondpagehereaswell,
soyouhavetwopagesbasicallywhichisitemsforkettleone,kitchenTV,toaster,etcetera.Youcanseehereits0.11.Thatis,seethatdoesntmake
muchsense.Itmightbe...yes.Itmightactuallybe.Itmustbe,yes 0.03,0.011,thatmustbe0.011kilowattsperhourperday.ThatstodayandifIwentbackyesterdayletsjustsaythisweek,thatwouldbebetter.Here
wego.Nowthatsgivenme0.02kilowattperhour,butthatsredforsome
reasonwhen its actually virtually zeroanyway soasyou can seethatbasicallyjustgetsyou,makesyoumoredisinterestedquitequickly.(T2,
p12)
All Trio interviewees described the graphs asconfusing, suggesting theywere
poorly annotated meaning itwas hard tounderstand exactly what they wereshowing.Further,severalarguedthattheinformationthegraphsprovidedwas
irrelevantorunimportant:
Itprovidesmemyweeklyinformationbuttheresalimitastohowmuch
youcangetfromagraphonascreenandthebiggestproblemthatIhavewiththat,andcomparedtowhatIdo,youknowhowIsaidI recordmy
meterreadingseverysingleweek?WellIvegotthatintoagraphonExcel
sowhenIlookatmyelectricityusageforOctoberthisyearIcancomparetolastyear.IcantdothatontheTrio.Itsallverywellbeingabletoyou
canlookatlastmonthbutyoucantcomparethismonthtolastmonthsoeasilyandlastmonthImaynotwanttocomparetobecauseifyoustart
looking, trying to compare the summer months to the autumn months
theyre justmeaningless.Sowhile Ican get someinformationnow,ifyouaskedmehowmanytimesI'veboiledthekettletodayIcantellyou.Is
itbetterthanyesterday?Icantellyou.Buthowdoesthatcomparetolast
month,youknow,itsalothardertogetthatinformationout.(T4,p7-8)
Trio interviewees regularly commented that they wanted to be able to drilldown into the graphs toget more and more detailed informationon specific
appliances. Here, the ability to manipulate the data oneself was also seen as
important as, again, a triallist called for the data tobeexportable inExcelorotherspreadsheetformats.
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In addition, whilst complaining that the information offeredwas insufficiently
detailed,severalintervieweesalsoarguedthatthepagedesignwasclutteredandconfusing:
therestoomanytabs,toomuchinformation(T4,p12)
Here,therewasadesiretobeabletocustomisethepagesontheTriosothattheycandisplaytheinformationyouwantquicklyandeasily.ForoneTriouser,
forexamplethismeantdisplayingallofherappliancesonthesamepage,rather
than spread over two or three pages. In general, and as with the MyEnergywebsite,Triointervieweesfeltthatpagedesignneededimproving:
Ithinkthegraphicscoulddowithbeing,Idontknow,abitmore,notnecessarilydescriptive.Thebitthat,letsjustsaytheyreverystandard
graphics.(T2,p7)
3.2.5Whousesthedevices?
Theprevioussub-sectionshavefocusedonwhichfeaturesofthedeviceswereusedandhow.Inthissub-section,theattentionwillturntowhousesthedevices
withintheparticipatinghouseholds.
Althoughitdidvarythroughouttheinterviews,itbecamerapidlyclearthatallof
thedeviceswereheavilygenderedinfavourofmen:
R:Imustadmititsmainlyblokes[whoveshownaninterestinit].
I:Whydoyouthinkthatis?
R:Oh,wejustlikeflashinglightsandfiddlingwithknobsandthings,dontwe?(D3,p5)
Asmentionedearlier,thedevicesweredesignedaroundacardashboard,which
suggeststheirgenderednaturemaybepartlyintentional.Whatwasemphasised
regularlyand across all devices,however,was the perceptionthat the deviceswereneitherlikednorunderstoodbyparticipantswives:
Mywifedoesntlikeitasmuchasjusttheoldthing,whichhadasinglebignumberonit,becausetherearetoomanythingsonhereforherto
look at. She doesnt understand it really. She understands a tick and a
crosssothatsokay(D1,p12)
WhatwedidiswegottheDuet,webookedonthetrial,wedidntgofortheallthesinginganddancingonecauseIthoughtit'dterrifymywife.
(D2,p3)
Mywifesnotparticularlyinterestedinit.(D4,p9)
Indeed, several participants went on to emphasise that this had led to some
arguments:
R:Itshardwiththisfamilybecausethewifeisjustnotinterestedatall.
Herreasonsforthisis'justanothergadget'.Thatswhatsheseesitasand
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alsoformetocheckwhatshesdoingwiththekettlebecauseliterallythe
firstweekIwasjustswitchingthekettleoffonthecomputer,youknow.I:Soyoucanswitchthingsoff?
R:YoucanremotelyswitchoffandIhadalotoffuntostartoffwith.Italmostcausedhertomoveoutbut,youknow.Shethreatenedmesome
nastylanguagebasically[LAUGHTER].(T2,p11)
AnotherparticipantsuggesteditwouldbeaverybadideaforhisFathertoget
holdofaTriodevice:
Iveshownit tomydadwhowouldlikeit,whowouldbemonitoringit
24/7,whichiswhymymumdoesnt likeit.ifhehad thatinformation
mymumwouldnt,shewouldntdareputthetelevisiononandwatchit,youknow,itcosts2ptowatchthatTVprogramme.(T4,p11-12)
Whilstonlyhalfserious,bothofthesequotationsillustratethatthedevicesenter
into already complex sets ofdomestic interactions, negotiations and practicesandthattheymaynotnecessarilybewelcomedbyallhouseholdmembers.
Ingeneralacrosstheinterviews,onehouseholdmemberhadbeeninchargeof
thedeviceandshownthemaininterestinit.Severaldidmention,however,thatdifferenthouseholdmemberswereinterestedinthedevicesforquitedifferent
reasons.Forexample:
I:Whohasusedit?Itsoundsactuallylikeeveryonehasusedthedevice?
R: Everyone but my eldest son who really couldnt care but hes aguitarist.Imeanhereallyis,andhesa21yearold.Tobefairmywifeand
daughterarethemostconscientious.Mydaughterfortheschoolreasons,
thatshesstillatsecondaryschoolandsheisthemostenvironmental.Mywifeforcostreasons,meforboth,andmytwosons,whoare19and21,I
thinkitjustnagsthemtoturnthelightsout.Particularlymyolder,tobefairtomyeldestsonhedoeskeepsaying,whokeepsleavingthelighton?
Thatsabigthingwithhim.Soitsjustpesterfactorofthose.(D2,p8-9)
Severalintervieweesmentionedthatthedevicewasgoodforyoungchildrenas
thecoloursandthedials,andparticularlythetickandthecrosssymbolswere
easytounderstandasopposedtonumbers.Forschoolchildren,2 intervieweesmentioned that the devices hadbeen valuable for school projects, and argued
that they had used pester power to encourage the whole household to saveenergy.Asthequotationaboveillustrates,olderchildrenweregenerallyseenas
harder toengage,although inthis instancethe costofenergy,and any energy
savings realised, were being factored into the older childrens housekeepingpaymentsandthis,itappeared,hadbeencriticaltogettingtheminvolvedwith
thedevice.
Whilst such family involvement did occur and some families heldregular and
cooperative discussions about how best to save electricity, more often thedevices were used by a single household member and had led to complex
negotiationsorevenarguments.Aswillbeshowninsection5.3(below),given
thestrengthofresistanceandargumentsagainstsuchdevices,havingonlyone
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householdmemberchampioningtheircausemay,insomecases,be insufficient
tobringaboutsignificantandlastingchanges.
4.Whateffectshavethedeviceshad?
4.1Onawareness?
GEOs tagline is making energy visible. As has been shown in the preceding
sectionsallthreeofthedevicessucceededindoingthisamongintervieweestodifferingdegrees.
Severalintervieweesemphasisedtheirrelativelackofawarenessoftheirenergyusagepriortoparticipatinginthetrial.Here,electricitybillsweredescribedas
incomprehensible andobscuringtheactualamountsofelectricity used.At the
same time,direct debit paymentswere highlightedas furtherpushing energyusageoutofsightandoutofmind,ortothebackofthedrawer.Furtherstill,
several participants simply argued that theyd never previously thought toquestiontheirenergyusage,asitwassomethingthattheyneededandthusthey
simplyusedandpaidwhatevertheyneededorwanted:
wedontavoidit,butwedonttryandworkitout,becauseitsalsothe
most complicatedbill in the entireworld. Its obviously designed tobe
incomprehensibletoamortalman.(C1,p17)
weve never sort ofqueried our electricity bill or nothing becausewe
alwaysthought,youknow,okay.(S2,p7)
Acrosstheboard,therefore,intervieweespraisedthedevicesasvitalinhelpingtomake electricityuse more tangibleand more real.Here, across all devices,
intervieweesdescribedthisprocessasoneoffocusingthemindorofmaking
energyuppermostinyourmind.Intervieweesregularlyassertedthattheywerealreadyawareofenergyuse,butthatthedevicehadsomehowmadethismore
important.
I suppose the device hasnt changed our awareness in that respect
becausewevealwaysbeenawareofit;itjustitsavisualcluethatifyou
haventdonesomethingitsjustfocusingIthink,focusingthemindandshowing it in ain something that you can instantly see thebenefit of
doing.(D4,p22)
Whatappearedtobeoccurring,therefore,wasnotthebrandnewdevelopmentofawarenessofenergy,butratherafocusingofexistingattentiononhowenergy
is implicated in normally inconspicuous lifestyle practices. One participant
described the devices as a good learner for they had helped him to identifywhich practices and which appliances were energy intensive and therefore
enabledhimtoplanaroundthis.Arguablythisisnotsomuchamatterofmaking
energyvisibleasofmakingenergyrelevanttoeverydaylifestyles.
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Following this line of argument, it is easy to understand why interviewees
described the CO2 or kWh measurements as meaningless, abstract andirrelevant,becausetheywereunabletoconnectthemtootheraspectsoftheir
lifestyles.Furtherstill,severalintervieweescalledforstillmoreinformationtohelp them contextualise particular activities and practices. Most commonly,
participantscalledformoreinformationontheconsumptionlevelsandpatternsofothersimilarhouseholdsintheirareaorregion.Here,whilsttheyfelttheyhaddeveloped anadequate understandingof theirown consumption, theyhadno
meansbywhichtoevaluateortojudgesuchabsolutefigures.Otherscalledfor
more information to help compare the energy consumption and emissions oftheirdomesticelectricityusagewithotheraspectsoftheirlifestyle,suchasusing
carsorplanes.
Theseobservationsprovidesomeinsightintohowtheinformationthedevices
provide is helping to increase participants awareness of their electricity use.Beyond this individual focusing of the mind, however, several interviewees
mentionedthattheyhadspokenaboutthedevicewithfriends,familymembersorcolleagues.Inthisrespect,thedeviceswouldappeartomakeenergyvisibleand conscious beyond the individual user or household. At the same time,
however,thereactionsofsuchacquaintancesarerevealing.
Relativelyfewintervieweessuggestedthattellingpeopleaboutthedevicehad
led tosignificant interest. OneDuetusermentioned thathe had encouragedafriend to get a similar device, and a Solo user recounted a friend showing
significant interest in the device but without getting one themselves. More
commonly, interviewees suggested that their acquaintances were notparticularlyinterested.ATriouser,forexample,explainedhowwhenshefirst
gotthedeviceshetoldeveryonesheknewaboutit:
WhenIfirstgotitIwasabitobsessedwithit,itwasanewgadgetandId
constantlybetellingpeopleaboutitandeveryvisitortothehouse,friendsandfamilyandIdbetellingthemallthethingsitcoulddoandthenthere
eyeswouldglazeover,soIwasprobablyabitofabore.(T1,p2)
Otherstoldsimilarstoriesalthoughmanyemphasisedthattheywerecarefulnot
topreachtoothersaboutthevirtuesofsavingeithermoneyorenergy.
Asecondcommonreactionofacquaintanceswastoarguethatpossessingsucha
devicewastypicaloftheuser:
[Myfriends]responsewasthatstypicalofyou,youhavetomonitorand
look ateverythingbecause, you know,Im ananalyst, that isme. (T4,p12)
Inthisparticularquotation itwas typical oftheuser towant tomonitorandgatherinformation.Inanotherinstanceitwastypicaloftheusertowantanew
gadget.Intheseinstances,however,acquaintancesappearedtobedismissingthedeviceassomethingonlyearlyadopterswouldenjoy,andthereforesomething
thatwouldnotnecessarilyworkforeveryone.
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Theresultofsuchreactions,foratleastsomeoftheusersthemselves,appeared
tobeasenseofresignation.Here,severalemphasisedthepointlessnessoftryingto engage others in saving money or energy, often suggesting this was a
generationalissueandthatlittlecouldbedonetoreducetheenergyintensityofmodernwaysoflife.
This sub-section has focused on how the devices have impacted upon theinterviewees awareness ofelectricity. Ithas indicated that the deviceshave a
significanteffectinmakingenergyvisibleandrelevantinthecontextofspecific
lifestyle practices. Further, it has shown that the devices can make energy atalkingpointbeyondindividualusersandhouseholds.Here,however,reactions
tothe deviceswould appear to indicate that suchdevicesmightnot work foreveryone. Aswillbeillustratedinsection5(below),giventhe limitationsand
frustrationsthateventheseearlyadoptersexperienced,thisobservationmight
beverysignificantforthewiderrolloutandeffectivenessofsuchdevices.
4.2Onlevelsofconsumption?
Despitethedifferentusagepatternsofthedevices,asoutlinedinsection3above,across all devices the manner in which the devices influenced interviewees
levels of electricity consumption appeared to have been similar. Here, if
anything,theTrioperformedworstsimplybecauseitwasusedleast.Ratherthandistinguishingbetweenthedifferentdevices,thissectionwillthereforefocuson
the six different kinds of behavioural change that the devices appeared toinspire.Thesewillbeaddressed inturn,and are as follows: i)usingithot, ii)
identifyingwaste,iii)improvingefficiency,iv)developingnewlifestylepatterns,
v)makingfutureplans,andvi)spillover.
4.2.1Usingithot:Immediateactiontoreduceconsumption
Oneofthemostcommonmeansbywhichthedeviceshadeffectsonbehaviourwasdescribedbyoneparticipantasusingithot.Thisreferstotakingimmediate
action to reduce current levels of consumptionafterhaving noticed excessive
usagelevelsonthedisplay:
It'sincleardisplayjustundereyelevel.Sowhenit'silluminatedduringthedayand,youknow,theevening,wecanseestraightawaywhatwe're
doing, you know, if we're doing something right. If were not we'll do
somethingaboutitstraightaway,we'llknockafewlightsofforsayswitchthe electric fire off becausewegot one of these flicker effect things so
we'llswitchthatoff.(S1,p9)
I thinkbecauseyou can actuallyphysically see turning the lightonor
turningthelightofforturningthesocketonactuallymakesadifferencetoyourconsumption.Ifyouturnitonyoucanseethedialgoupsoyou
actuallyseethatyoureusingsomethinganditmakesyoumoreaware.I
meanIdogoaroundturninglightsoffandthingslikethatnowwhereasIdidntbeforeandIthinkitisthedifferencebetweenyouactuallyseeing
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something and not seeing something, if that makes sense? Once you
actuallyrealisetheresadirectrelationshipbetweenturningthatlightonandoffandthatdialonthemachinegoingroundandwhenyousortofdo
thejoiningupyeah.(D3,p6)
Thisformofusetendedtogeneraterelativelysmallbehaviouralchangessuchasturning lights off or turning devices off standby. What was critical to suchbehaviouraleffectshoweverwasthenagfactorofthedevice,oritssuccessin
pushing information onto the user. For such changes to occur, participants
suggestedthatthedevicehadtobewellsitedandreadilyvisible,usuallyjustatorbelowtheeye-line,inorderthatitcouldbealmostsub-consciouslynoticedin
thecorneroftheeyeandthusprovokeimmediateaction.Inthisrespect,amongthoseinterviewed,theSoloandDuetdevicesperformedwell,whereastheTrio
device either because it was not prominently situated, or because it was not
sufficientlyrealtime,performedlesswell.
4.2.2Identifyingwaste
Asecond,againverycommon,wayinwhich thedeviceshadbeenusedwastoidentifyareasinwhichelectricitywasbeingwastedandthuscouldbereduced.
Here, as the following quotation shows, interviewees had used the devices to
help them identifywhat theirbaselineenergy use was.Once theyd done thistheythenattemptedtoreduceitbycuttingoutunnecessaryconsumption:
Itisabitofaneyeopenerjusttoseewhat,youknow,theelectricitythat
youusewhenyouredoingnothingifyouknowwhatImean?(D3,p2)
Several approaches were used to reduce such unnecessary consumption.
Perhaps the most common was to recognise that certain appliances were old
and/orinefficient.Thiswasparticularlythecasewithfridgesandfreezerskeptinouthouses,withincandescentlightbulbs,withkettlesorwithelectricheaters.
Forexample:
Weve done away with the 40 all singing and dancing kettle and its
been replaced with a two kilowatts instead of a three kilowatt onebecauseaswereboilinglesswaterisboilsitjustasquick.Idsayitsquite
funny. We really havemodifiedour behaviour in funny strange ways.
(D2,p7)
Anothercommonmeansbywhichthedevicesencouragedreductionsinwasteful
consumptionwas byencouragingparticipants tocut out standby usage. Here,several interviewees had purchased kill plugs to make it easier for them to
switchdevicesoffattheplugpoint.
A thirdwaythatwastefulconsumptionwasreducedwasthroughbehavioural
measuressuchasonlyfillingkettleswiththenecessaryamountofwater,orbyonlywashingfullloads.
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Finally, the fourth way in which the devices helped to reduce wasteful
consumptionwasbyenablingtheusertoidentifyunnaturallevelsofuseandtoinvestigatehowitmightbereduced:
Sometimes you see things that are unnatural, that was different to
yesterday,soIllgoroundandinvestigateandstufflikethat.(D4,p18)
Thissuggests,andseveralintervieweesappearedtoagree,thatthedeviceshelp
their users become familiar with the normal and hence natural patterns of
consumptionintheirhousehold.
4.2.3Improvingefficiency
Thethird,andrelated,meansbywhichthedevicesaffectedconsumptionlevelswasbyencouraginguserstoinvestinnew,moreefficienttechnologies.Several
intervieweescommentedthatthedeviceshadmadethemrealisewhatcurrentappliancesusedandhadthereforehelpedthemtothinkthroughandrationallyto justify their replacement with new, more efficient appliances. This was
especiallycommonwithregardtoreplacinglightbulbs,butseveralintervieweeshad replaced larger appliances such as fridges, freezers, kettles and TVs. For
example:
Iknowthatmyfridgefreezerisareasonablyefficientone,itsanA-rated
oneanditsquitenewsothatsfine,butIhaveusedittolookatthesort
of,workout inmyheadwhat the typicaldailyconsumption isandhowmuchitscostingmeanditsnotamillionmilesawayfromsaying,well,
actuallythatscostingme100moreayearinenergythanitshoulddo.Soitwouldpayforitselftobuyanewonewithintwoyears.Thatsmorethe
economistinme,butworkingoutthepaybackIthoughtgreat.Itsquite
easy to justify buying new appliances when youve got a 20 year oldfridge.(T3,p10)
I cant see that I've changed my general behaviour but I can findexamplesofwherethishashelpedmemakeadecision.(T4,p18)
Thiskindofconsciousandrationaldecision-makingdidappeartobeespecially
prevalentamongTriousers,andparticularlythosewhoweremotivatedtotake
part in the trialbecause theywanted more informationontheirconsumptionpatterns.
Atthesametimeasthisledtoincreasedefficiencyinenergyconsumption,forseveral interviewees it also appeared to lead to some considerable frustration
thatmore informationon the energy consumptionofnew applianceswas notreadilyavailable.Thisisdiscussedinmoredetailinsection5.4.
4.2.4Developingnewlifestylepatterns
The fourth and probably least common means bywhich the devices changedconsumption patterns among the interviewees, was by encouraging them to
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developnewroutinesorlifestylepatterns.Inmostcases,andaswillbediscussed
furtherinsection5.2below,intervieweesexplicitlystatedthattheydidnotwishto compromise their lifestyle and that doing so would be using the device
excessively.Someusers,however,hadbeenpromptedbythedevicestomodifytheirlifestylesslightlyinordertoreducetheirdomesticelectricityusage.
In one such instance, a Solo user explained how the device had changed hishouseholdskitchenroutine,explaininghowhis householdworkedtogether to
avoid exceeding their self-selected daily budget by postponing some energy
consumingactivities(e.g.cooking)infavourofthosewhichuselessenergy,suchasmakingsandwiches:
I'lltellyouwhat[useswifesname]we'lldothewashingtomorrow,youknow, we'll just have sandwiches tomorrow. So in that respect were
thinkingaheadifyoulike(S1,p20)
Helaterdescribedthisasdoingmoreforwardplanning.Byrevealingtheenergyintensityofvarioushouseholdpractices,inthisinstancethedeviceappearedtoenable individuals to plan their routines more carefully to reduce energy
consumption.Thesameintervieweewentontosuggestthismadehimfeelmore
incontrolofhiselectricityconsumption.
In another instance, a Trio user argued that the device had cut his domesticelectricityconsumptionbyencouraginghimtorefrainfromcertainpractices:
IamsoawareofhowmuchImusingthatIthinktomyselfwelldoIneedto?DoIneedtoputmylightonrightnow?CanIstillsithereinthedark
and work by candlelight? Do I need to watch Eastenders tonight, you
know?Sometimesitgivesmethemotivationtogetonwithotherthingsas opposed to just sit down and maybe relax. Ive spent more time
workingorstudyingthanwhatIwouldhavedonepurelybecauseIthinksodit,IcantbebotheredtoputtheTVon,itsgoingtocostmeafewquid
sowhybother?(T4,p20)
Thisuserwenton,however,toarguethatwhilsthisdomesticconsumptionmay
havefallen,thismaynothaveledtoenergyorfinancialsavingsoverallasthese
werenowsimplybeingperformedelsewhere,forexampleinthelocalpuboratfriendshouses.Asmentioned,however,thiskindofbehaviouralchangewasrare
andwouldhavebeendismissedasexcessivebymostusersinterviewed.
4.2.5MakingFuturePlans
Althoughnottechnicallyalteringcurrentpatternsofelectricityconsumption,oneofthemostcommonmeansbywhichthedeviceshadaffectedtheiruserswasin
encouragingthemtomakefutureplanstocuteithertheirenergyconsumption
ortheircarbonemissionsbyinvestinginnewandmoreefficienttechnology.
Almostallusersinterviewedcommentedthatthedevicehadencouragedthemto
seekonlytheveryhighestenergyefficiencyratedapplianceswhentheirexistingappliancesfailed:
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Weneverbuyanythingnowunlessthatsratedashighasitcanpossibly
be.Imeanyoucant,IdontthinkyoucangetanArateddryerbutyoucanget a B one, you know, well the previous one we had was C. So we
wouldnt go and buy another C one, wed always and like the fridgefreezerwehadwasquitelowbutthenewoneIgot,thefridgeisArated.
Soyesweare,weare,havingthatmeterhasmadeustodothat.(S4,p25)
Formostintervieweesthedeviceshadbroughtabouttherealisationthatatleast
some existingapplianceswere inefficient andtherefore shouldbereplaced. In
somecases,asmentionedabove,applianceshadbeenexplicitlydisposedoforreplaced, in these caseshowever,usershad simply resolved to improve their
efficiencyinfuture.
Another very common example of how the devices had encouraged users to
make future plans to change their domestic energy consumption was byencouragingthemtolookintovariousformsofmicrogenerationtechnology,and
particularlysolarthermalorsolarPV.Severalintervieweesmentionedthattheywouldliketoinstallsuchtechnologiesoreventhattheyhadlookedintoitquiteseriously.Inallofthesecases,though,intervieweeswentontoargueeitherthat
such technologies were prohibitively expensive or that there was insufficientsupportavailable.Aswillbediscussedfurtherinthesection5.5,thisfeelingofa
lack of support from the surrounding socio-political context was a critical
limitationtotheeffectivenessofthedevices.
4.2.6Spillover
Thelastwayinwhichthedeviceseffectedchangestotheintervieweesenergy
consumptionpatternswasthroughspillovertootherlifestyleareas.Thiswasrelatively uncommonand appeared tooccurwith only two distinct groups of
interviewees. First, among those with a strong environmental motivation for
participating inthe trial, and second, amongthosewho felt theirclosefriendsandfamilymightalsobeabletosavemoneybyreducingtheirelectricityuse.
Forthefirstofthesegroups,cuttingtheirdomesticelectricityconsumptionwas
actuallyconsideredtobeafairlyminoractivityinthecontextofthemanyother
actionstheyweretakingtoreducetheirpersonalcarbonemissions:
Imconvinced that,youknow,CO2isaproblemandso Ihavebelieved
thatforthelast4or5yearsIsuppose.WedoImeanwevegottwocarsbuttheyrebothsmallonesandweusetheparkandrideandthebuspass
soaswedontuseourcarsallthetime.Wedotryandsaveenergy.Imeanwhenyoulookatitactuallyobjectivelyitsprobablyfairlyminimal.What
we really should be doing is never usingour cars at all.We are also
quite good on waste recycling and compost heaps and grow our ownvegetables,wedothatkindofthing.(S3,p3)
Inthesecasesintervieweescalledforthedevicestogiveabetterindicationofhow cutting their electricity consumption compared to the actions they were
takingtoreducetheiremissionsinotherlifestyleareas:
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Onethingthesedeviceshaventtoldusishowtoputourenergyusagein
the context of other things thatwedo like driving, flying, usingwater,usinggas.(D1,p17)
Here, several intervieweesdiscussedonline carbon footprint tools andcarbon
offsettingfeatureswondering ifthesemightbebuilt intothedevicesorto thewebsite.Anothersuggestedthatthewebsitemightalsoprovidecomparisonsofdifferentelectricitytariffs,includinggreentariffs.
Thesecondgroupamongstwhomspilloverappearedtobeoccurring,wasthoseforwhomsavingmoneywastheprimarymotivationandwhothoughtthatclose
friends or family might also benefit from cutting their consumption. In these
casestheintervieweeshadexplicitlytoldtheirclosefriendsandfamilyaboutthedeviceandencouragedthemtocutoutwastefulconsumption.Itwasemphasised
herethatsuchactivitiesoccurredonlywithfamilymembersandclosefriends.Althoughsomehaddiscussedthedeviceswithcolleagues,nonementionedthat
theydtriedtoconvincecolleaguestochangetheirbehaviour.Here,evenamongclosefriendsandfamily,therewasafeelingthatsuchappealsfellondeafears:
Iwouldsaytohimabout,youknow,youdontneedthemlightson,you
gottapay abill,blah,blah,blah. But I think thats quitedifficult totellotherpeoplewhattodo.(S4,p26)
Itwas also regularly mentioned that such appeals, although attempted, were
ineffectivewiththeyoungergeneration:
Idontwanttosoundrudeaboutit,butyoungergenerationisntitthey
want everything and they want everything now sort of thing. Perhaps
when they get a bit older theyll start thinking aboutwell saving for arainy day sort of thing. Does that sound like Im a bit of dinosaur or
something?(S1,p26)
Here, several older interviewees suggested thatwhilst they found the devices
useful,theywerepotentiallymoreimportantformoreprofligateenergyusers,particularlytheyoungandthewelloff.Althoughitwasnotthecaseamongstthis
small sample, there is a potential danger here that some device users,
particularlylowincomeorelderlyusers,willbecomefrustratedatattemptingtodotheirbitwhilstmorewastefulothersarenotbeingtargetedinthesameway.
4.2.7Summary
Where section2