research-article

The dubuque electricity portal: evaluation of a city-scale residential electricity consumption feedback system

Authors:

Ming Li,

Piyawadee Sukaviriya,

Milind NaphadeAuthors Info & Claims

CHI '13: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Pages 1203 - 1212

https://doi.org/10.1145/2470654.2466155

Published: 27 April 2013 Publication History

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Abstract

This paper describes the Dubuque Electricity Portal, a city-scale system aimed at supporting voluntary reductions of electricity consumption. The Portal provided each household with fine-grained feedback on its electricity use, as well as using incentives, comparisons, and goal setting to encourage conservation. Logs, a survey and interviews were used to evaluate the user experience of the Portal during a 20-week pilot with 765 volunteer households. Although the volunteers had already made a wide range of changes to conserve electricity prior to the pilot, those who used the Portal decreased their electricity use by about 3.7%. They also reported increased understanding of their usage, and reported taking an array of actions - both changing their behavior and their electricity infrastructure. The paper discusses the experience of the system's users, and describes challenges for the design of ECF systems, including balancing accessibility and security, a preference for time-based visualizations, and the advisability of multiple modes of feedback, incentives and information presentation.

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Cited By

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Lee MJun JLee SLee S(2024)Understanding the Initial Journey of UX Designers Toward Sustainable Interaction Design: A Focus on Digital Infrastructure Energy ReductionProceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3643834.3661598(3079-3096)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3643834.3661598
De Vries RLemke MLudden G(2023)Blueprints: Systematizing Behavior Change Designs—The Case of Social Comparison TheoryACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction10.1145/361736431:1(1-32)Online publication date: 29-Nov-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3617364
Dixon BChen YSerrano EPschetz L(2023)Exploring Critical Scenarios of Algorithmic Energy Distribution with the Karma Kettle GameCompanion Publication of the 2023 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3563703.3596655(266-269)Online publication date: 10-Jul-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3563703.3596655
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Index Terms

The dubuque electricity portal: evaluation of a city-scale residential electricity consumption feedback system
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)

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Reviews

Reviewer: Joao Orvalho

The smart city movement is a very important research drive nowadays and the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) has much to contribute in “electricity consumption feedback research (ECF).” This paper describes a very important project in the city of Dubuque, the Dubuque 2.0 NGO, where 756 households participated in a pilot study. Logs, a survey, and interviews were used to evaluate the Dubuque electricity portal, a system aimed at supporting voluntary reductions of electricity consumption. In this very important paper, readers can study and be aware of the several angles to observe in a challenge, that is, the reduction of CO2: “In our view, the most likely instigator for radical changes in consumption will be either crises or prices, most likely both. In this case some form of ECF will be a necessary part of the solution.” What do they mean__?__ “Individuals will still need to understand their consumption, and be able to view it in the context of achieving societal goals (e.g., avoiding rolling brownouts) or avoiding individual penalties (e.g., triggering higher prices in a tiered energy pricing regime).” This case study is quite important and should be replicated in other cities. It will attract volunteers to similar studies and encourage energy conservation. Online Computing Reviews Service

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Information & Contributors

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Published In

CHI '13: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

April 2013

3550 pages

ISBN:9781450318990

DOI:10.1145/2470654

General Chair:
Wendy E. Mackay
INRIA
,
Program Chairs:
Stephen Brewster
Glasgow University
,
Susanne Bødker
University of Aarhus

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Publication History

Published: 27 April 2013

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CHI '13

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SIGCHI

CHI '13: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

April 27 - May 2, 2013

Paris, France

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CHI '13 Paper Acceptance Rate 392 of 1,963 submissions, 20%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 6,199 of 26,314 submissions, 24%

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Cited By

View all

Lee MJun JLee SLee S(2024)Understanding the Initial Journey of UX Designers Toward Sustainable Interaction Design: A Focus on Digital Infrastructure Energy ReductionProceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3643834.3661598(3079-3096)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3643834.3661598
De Vries RLemke MLudden G(2023)Blueprints: Systematizing Behavior Change Designs—The Case of Social Comparison TheoryACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction10.1145/361736431:1(1-32)Online publication date: 29-Nov-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3617364
Dixon BChen YSerrano EPschetz L(2023)Exploring Critical Scenarios of Algorithmic Energy Distribution with the Karma Kettle GameCompanion Publication of the 2023 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3563703.3596655(266-269)Online publication date: 10-Jul-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3563703.3596655
Ramokapane KBird CRashid AChitchyan R(2022)Privacy Design Strategies for Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS)Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3491102.3517515(1-15)Online publication date: 29-Apr-2022
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Chitchyan RBird C(2022)Theory as a source of software and system requirementsRequirements Engineering10.1007/s00766-022-00380-w27:3(375-398)Online publication date: 23-May-2022
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Villa-Arrieta MSumper A(2022)Smart Cities Consumers in Search of the Potential SustainabilityHolistic Approach for Decision Making Towards Designing Smart Cities10.1007/978-3-030-85566-6_3(35-55)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2022
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Jensen RTeli MJensen SGram MHarboe Sørensen M(2021)Designing Eco-Feedback Systems for Communities: Interrogating a Techno-solutionist Vision for Sustainable Communal EnergyProceedings of the 10th International Conference on Communities & Technologies - Wicked Problems in the Age of Tech10.1145/3461564.3461581(245-257)Online publication date: 20-Jun-2021
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Hartley KLim NTortajada C(2021)Policy Note: Digital Feedback-Based Interventions for Water ConservationWater Economics and Policy10.1142/S2382624X2071004607:01Online publication date: 25-Jan-2021
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Chatzigeorgiou IAndreou G(2021)A systematic review on feedback research for residential energy behavior change through mobile and web interfacesRenewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews10.1016/j.rser.2020.110187135(110187)Online publication date: Jan-2021
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Laurillau YCoutaz JCalvary GBao V(2021)The Mondrian User Interface Pattern: Inspiring Eco-responsibility in HomesTowards Energy Smart Homes10.1007/978-3-030-76477-7_13(407-431)Online publication date: 12-Nov-2021
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Recommendations

The dubuque water portal: evaluation of the uptake, use and impact of residential water consumption feedback

Poster Abstract: Towards NILM for Industrial Settings

Development of Multi-objective Models Based on Economy, Environment, Health, and Labor for Sustainable Electricity

Reviews

Access critical reviews of Computing literature here