Yolande A.A. Strengers
ABSTRACT
Eco-feedback systems currently frame householders as micro-resource managers, who weigh up the costs and benefits of their consumption, and make autonomous, rational and efficient decisions. Reporting on findings from a qualitative study of three Australian energy and water eco-feedback programs utilising an in-home display (IHD) system, this paper challenges this view. The research finds that householders consume energy and water to carry out everyday practices, such as showering, laundering and cooling, which are mediated by social, cultural, technical and institutional dynamics. The paper proposes an alternative design paradigm for eco-feedback systems premised on the realities of everyday life and identifies several design directions that emerge from this new starting point.
- Abowd, G. D., Mynatt, E. D. and Rodden, T. (2002). The human experience {of ubiquitous computing}. Pervasive Computing, IEEE, 1(1), 48--57. Google Scholar
Digital Library
- ABS. (2008). Environmental Issues: Energy Use and Conservation (4602.0.55.001). Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, Australia. {http://www.abs.gov.au}.Google Scholar
- ACF. (2006). The GreenHome guide: Victorian edition. Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), Melbourne, VIC.Google Scholar
- Akrich, M. (1992). The de-scription of technical objects. In W. E. Bijker and J. Law. Shaping Technology/ Building Society. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. {US}.Google Scholar
- ATA. (2007). The Solar Experience: PV System Owners' Survey. Alternative Technology Association, Melbourne, VIC.Google Scholar
- Backlund, S., Gyllenswärd, M., Gustafsson, A., Hjelm, S. I., Mazé, R. and Redström, J. (2006). STATIC! The aesthetics of energy in everyday things. Proc. DRS Wonderground.Google Scholar
- Bell, G., Blythe, M., Gaver, B., Sengers, P. and Wright, P. (2003). Designing culturally situated technologies for the home. Proc. CHI 2003, ACM, 1062--1063. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Challis, C. (2004). A Literature Review of Secondary and Smart Metering Knowledge in Managed Housing. The Energy Savings Trust, UK.Google Scholar
- Chappells, H. and Shove, E. (2004). Infrastructures, crises and the orchestration of demand. In D. Southerton, B. Van Vliet and H. Chappells. Sustainable Consumption: the Implications of Changing Infrastructures of Provision. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, 130--143.Google Scholar
- Chetty, M., Bernheim-Brush, A. J., Meyers, B. R. and Johns, P. (2009). It's not easy being green: understanding home computer power management. Proc. CHI 2009, ACM, 1033--1042. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 1Chetty, M., Tran, D. and Grinter, R. E. (2008). Getting to green: understanding resource consumption in the home. Proc. UbiComp'08. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Darby, S. (2006). The effectiveness of feedback on energy consumption: A review for DEFRA of the literature on metering, billing and direct displays. Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford {UK}.Google Scholar
- Darby, S. (2010). Smart metering: what potential for householder engagement? Building Research & Information, 38(5), 442 - 457.Google Scholar
- Davidson, G. (2008). Down the gurgler: historical influences on Australian domestic water consumption. In P. Troy. Troubled Waters: Confronting the Water Crisis in Australia's Cities. ANU E Press, Canberra, Australia, 37--65.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Dillahunt, T., Mankoff, J., Paulos, E. and Fussell, S. (2009). It's not all about "Green": energy use in low-income communities. Proc. Proceedings of the 11th international conference on Ubiquitous computing, ACM, 255--264. Google ScholarDigital Library
- DiSalvo, C., Sengers, P. and Hrönn, B. (2010). Mapping the landscape of sustainable HCI. Proc. CHI 2010, ACM, 1975--1984. Google ScholarDigital Library
- EcoVision. (2007). EcoVision Solutions Pty Ltd. EcoVision Solutions Pty Ltd, Elanora, QLD. {http://www.ecovisionsolutions.com.au/}.Google Scholar
- Froehlich, J., Findlater, L. and Landay, J. (2010). The design of eco-feedback technology. Proc. CHI 2010, ACM, 1999--20008. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Gram-Hanssen, K. (2007). Teenage consumption of cleanliness: how to make it sustainable? Sustainability: Science, Practice & Policy, 3(2), 1--9.Google Scholar
- Gram-Hanssen, K. (2008). Consuming technologies developing routines. Journal of Cleaner Production, 16(1181--1189.Google ScholarCross Ref
- 2Gram-Hanssen, K. (2009). Standby consumption in households analyzed with a practice theory approach. Research and Analysis, 14(1), 150--165.Google Scholar
- 2Gustafsson, A. and Gyllenswärd, M. (2005). The Power-Aware Cord: energy awareness through ambient information display. Proc. CHI 2005, ACM, 1423--1426. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Hand, M., Southerton, D. and Shove, E. (2003). Explaining daily showering: a discussion of policy and practice. Economic & Social Research Council, UK. {http://www.sustainabletechnologies.ac.uk/}.Google Scholar
- Hargreaves, T., Nye, M. and Burgess, J. (2010). Making energy visible: a qualitative field study of how householders interact with feedback from smart energy monitors. Energy Policy, 38(6111--6119.Google Scholar
- Harper, P. (2006). Australia's Environment Issues and Trends 2006. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, Australia.Google Scholar
- Hirsch, T. and Anderson, K. (2010). Cross currents: water scarcity and sustainable CHI. Proc. CHI 2010, ACM, 2843--2852. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Intille, S. S. (2002). Designing a home of the future. Pervasive Computing, 1(2), 76--82. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Jackson, T. (2005). Motivating Sustainable Consumption: a Review of Evidence on Consumer Behaviour and Behavioural Change. Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, a report to the Sustainable Development Research Network, Surrey, UK.Google Scholar
- Kaufmann, C. (1998). Dirty Linen: Couples and their Laundry. Middlesex University Press, London, UK.Google Scholar
- OECD. (2002). Towards Sustainable Household Consumption? Trends and Policies in OECD Countries. Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), France.Google Scholar
- 3Pierce, J., Fan, C., Lomas, D., Marcu, G. and Paulos, E. (2010). Some considerations of the (in)effectiveness of residential energy feedback systems. Proc. DIS 2010, ACM, 244--247. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 3Pierce, J., Schiano, D. J. and Paulos, E. (2010). Home, habits, and energy: examining domestic interactions and energy consumption. Proc. CHI 2010, ACM, 1985--1994. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 3Reckwitz, A. (2002). Toward a theory of social practices: a development in culturalist theorizing. Journal of Social Theory, 5(2), 243--263.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Schatzki, T. R. (2002). The Site of the Social: a Philosophical Account of the Constitution of Social Life and Change. The Pennsylvania State University Press, Pennsylvania, USA.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Schwartz Cowan, R. (1989). More Work for Mother: the Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave. Free Association Books, London, UK.Google Scholar
- SEW. (2007). Reference Guide: Eco-Pioneer Trial. South East Water (SEW), Melbourne, VIC.Google Scholar
- 3Shipworth, M. (2000). Motivating Home Energy Action: a Handbook of What Works. Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra, Australia.Google Scholar
- 3Shove, E. (1997). Revealing the invisible: sociology, energy and the environment. In M. Redclift and G. Woodgate. The International Handbook of Environmental Sociology. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK.Google ScholarCross Ref
- 3Shove, E. (2003). Comfort, Cleanliness and Convenience: the Social Organisation of Normality. Berg Publishers, Oxford, UK.Google Scholar
- 40.Sofoulis, Z. (2005). Big water, everyday water: a sociotechnical perspective. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 19(4), 445--463.Google ScholarCross Ref
- 4Southerton, D., Chappells, H. and Van Vliet, B. (2004). Sustainable Consumption: the Implications of Changing Infrastructures of Provision. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.Google Scholar
- 4Strengers, Y. (2008). Smart metering demand management programs: challenging the comfort and cleanliness habitus of households. Proc. OZCHI 2008, ACM, 9--16. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 4Strengers, Y. (2010). Air-conditioning Australian households: a trial of Dynamic Peak Pricing. Energy Policy, 38(11), 7312--7322.Google ScholarCross Ref
- 4Strengers, Y. (in press). Beyond demand management: co-managing energy and water consumption in Australian households. Policy Studies.Google Scholar
- 4Suchman, L. (1987). Plans and situated actions. The problem of human-machine communication. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 4Suchman, L. (2007). Human-machine reconfigurations: plans and situated actions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 4Suchman, L., Blomberg, J., Orr, J. E. and Trigg, R. (1999). Reconstructing technologies as social practice American Behavioral Scientist, 43(3), 392--408.Google Scholar
- 4SV. (2009). You have the power. Save energy. Sustainability Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. {http://www.saveenergy.vic.gov.au/}.Google Scholar
- 4Van Vliet, B., Chappells, H. and Shove, E. (2005). Infrastructures of Consumption: Environmental Innovation in the Utilities Industries. Earthscan, London {UK}.Google Scholar
- 50.VictGov. (2009). Save Water Target 155. Victorian Government, Melbourne, Australia. {http://www.target155.vic.gov.au/home}.Google Scholar
- 5Vigarello, G. (1988). Concepts of Cleanliness: Changing Attitudes in France since the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Google Scholar
- 5Warde, A. (2005). Consumption and theories of practice. Journal of Consumer Culture, 5(2), 131--153.Google ScholarCross Ref
- 5Wetherall, B. (2008). Draft Report of the EcoPioneer Pilot Program. South East Water, Melbourne, Australia.Google Scholar
- 5Wilhite, H., Shove, E., Lutzenhiser, L. and Kempton, W. (2000). The legacy of twenty years of energy demand management: we know more about individual behaviour but next to nothing about demand. In E. Jochem, J. Sathaya and D. Bouille. Society, Behaviour and Climate Change Mitigation. Kluwer Academic Publishers, {The Netherlands}, 109--126.Google Scholar
- 5Woodruff, A., Hasbrouck, J. and Augustin, S. (2008). A bright green perspective on sustainable choices. Proc. CHI 2008, ACM, 313--322.. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- Designing eco-feedback systems for everyday life
Index terms have been assigned to the content through auto-classification.
Recommendations
Personalised eco-feedback as a design technique for motivating energy saving behaviour at home
NordiCHI '12: Proceedings of the 7th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Making Sense Through DesignIn recent years, interaction designers have actively started addressing sustainability as a research topic. More specifically, persuasive applications, which aim at promoting pro-environmental behaviour, such as energy saving have been of growing ...
The design of eco-feedback technology
CHI '10: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsEco-feedback technology provides feedback on individual or group behaviors with a goal of reducing environmental impact. The history of eco-feedback extends back more than 40 years to the origins of environmental psychology. Despite its stated purpose, ...
Smart metering demand management programs: challenging the comfort and cleanliness habitus of households
OZCHI '08: Proceedings of the 20th Australasian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction: Designing for Habitus and HabitatDrawing on Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, field and capital, this paper outlines how smart metering demand management programs could be redesigned to bring together the competing fields of resource management and domestic life. Comfort and ...
Comments