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Published in:
Towards Sustainable Living Read chapter Read first chapter

2017 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

23. Powerchord: Exploring Ambient Audio Feedback on Energy Use

Authors : Dan Lockton, Flora Bowden, Claire Matthews

Published in: Living Labs

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Influencing energy use is a major research topic. However, many approaches lump ‘energy demand’ together, disconnected from everyday artefacts, the realities of household life, and people’s diverse understandings of the systems around them. There is an opportunity for research through design which addresses relationships with the invisible concept of energy through new kinds of feedback. Powerchord is an ongoing (2014—) exploration of sonifying energy use in near-real time. The prototypes developed so far monitor multiple household electrical appliances in parallel, turning readings of the instantaneous power being drawn into various kinds of sounds. Powerchord provides a form of ambient experiential feedback intended to fit with the soundscapes of everyday domestic life, while (perhaps) enabling a deeper understanding of the characteristics of energy use. The concept was developed from ideas suggested by householders during co-creation sessions as part of the European SusLabNWE project, funded by INTERREG IVB, as part of our wider exploration of the invisibility of energy which also led to ‘Drawing Energy’ (see Chap. 14 ‘Participatory Drawing in Ethnographic Research’).

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previous chapter Making Energy Feedback Understandable
next chapter Designing Ampul: Empowerment to Home Energy Prosumers
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Metadata
Title
Powerchord: Exploring Ambient Audio Feedback on Energy Use
Authors
Dan Lockton
Flora Bowden
Claire Matthews
Copyright Year
2017
Book
Living Labs

Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33526-1

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-33527-8

Copyright Year: 2017

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33527-8_23

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