the visible energy trial: insights from qualitative interviews

8/3/2019 The Visible Energy Trial: Insights from Qualitative Interviews

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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

the visible energy trial: insights from qualitative interviews

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