The User-Centric Development of a Home Energy Management System: Results from a Field Trial

Home energy management systems are a sound way of bringing feedback on energy use in real time to the household members. Our research involves the user-centric development and testing of a home energy management system, in which both tablet and smartphone are used as the communication device to the test users. The focus of our research lies on discovering the needs of the consumer regarding insights in their energy use. This research led to the development of a home energy management system that was tested in 21 households. During this field trial, regular moments were foreseen for the measurement of the user experience with the home energy management system, using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. This research gave insights on the use of the system and the behavior of the participants in reaction to the system The results indicate that while enthusiasm for using is high the application is high in the beginning, this somewhat decreases over time for a reasonable part of the test families. The testers especially liked the ability to monitor the energy use of their appliances and compare the energy use of weeks and months. A minority persisted in using their appliances in accordance to the dynamic prices that were provided.