Smart grids: Changing consumer interaction

Smart grids: Changing consumer interaction

Kobus, C.B.A.

Schoormans, J.P.L. (mentor)
Silvester, S. (mentor)
Knigge, J.D. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Product Innovation Management

2010-11-19

Today, the supply of energy is based on fossil fuels, which is often considered as an important cause of climate change. Moreover, the supply of energy is increasingly dependent of a few, sometimes political instable regions. An energy transition is needed for the maintenance of our welfare and environment. The needed energy transition will cause the system to change from a central continuous character, to a decentral and intermitting character and will put an extra focus on electricity as an energy carrier. This means that it will become more difficult to match supply and demand. By managing loads, demand has to match supply in the future. Since the Dutch domestic electricity demand accounts for almost one third of the total Dutch demand, it is logical that the electricity sector would engage consumers in efforts to manage load. But, the sector has difficulties engaging consumers, since the concept of behavioural change is already a difficult concept and is complicated further by the consumption characteristics of electricity. First of all, electricity is a commodity and is difficult to comprehend. Second, the consumer is generally low involved with the product, the product has a low cost priority and the consumer is ignorant of its own consumption patterns. Last, the problems connected to its consumption are too complex. Because this behavioural change is that complex, upfront user input is of great importance. It is important to understand current perceptions of consumers to guide desired behavior. The goal of this graduation project was to explore these perceptions by qualitative consumer research and to obtain inspiration for system development. The focus of development has been on the interface, since the interface is the system in users’ perspectives. The development vision of the system is based on open source to establish lasting and rich end-user involvement, cooperation between composite hard- and software components and kick-start innovation. The concept designed is named klik and is inspired by the insights obtained by the qualitative research performed and by theory on behavior steering design principles. Klik serves as inspiration for more detailed system development. The conceptual model created on adoption of demand management systems serves as input for further research.

user centred design
behavioural change
social marketing
qualitative research
demand side management
energy transition
interface design
open source

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:deab7aee-9038-4072-9f62-e8e5c9b8c4b5

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2010 Kobus, C.B.A.