MakeshiftCrewAssignment3

MakeshiftCrewAssignment3

To-Do

Please answer the following questions about the article: what did you find interesting? what did you find not find interesting? what did you not understand? what did you learn (if anything) reading the article?

We learned that making the smart grid work is about more than just automating an efficient method to monitor energy intake and integrate alternative energy. We are still wondering how to get the passive consumers, who are not interested in being proactive, to start using some of this software.

It was interesting to read that Boulder was the first Smart Grid City. Before reading this article, none of us were even aware of this fact. We also found it interesting to discuss ways in which social interaction could encourage smarter energy consumption. We had trouble understanding the term four levels of ecology.

Based on an exploration of the web, scientific articles, newspaper stories, ….. ? Write a Short Essay (about 1 page) about an interesting question / website related to one or more of the themes: Energy Sustainability, Smart Meters, Smart Grid

An interesting question to be addressed is how companies, like General Electric (GE), are advertising their energy meters. For instance, none of the five Boulderites in our group knew that Boulder was a Smart Grid City even though one of us has been living here for about 5 years. If this were advertised on the Xcel bills, for instance, people would probably be more proactive. for online bill payers, there should be advertisements on the website, explaining the benefits they can reap from the Smart Grid system. It seems that this would be one way to get the passive consumers to participate.

The Google PowerMeter seems to be a possible solution for the future once it becomes more universally available. Personal stories on the PowerMeter website suggest that some people have already integrated it into their daily lives. Users commented on the convenience of having their energy consumption information always at their fingertips. As laptops and devices such as iPhones get more popular, real time energy consumption monitoring will only become more ubiquitous. If checking your energy usage in your home becomes as common as checking your email, people will start to make everyday decisions that will save energy.

We like the GE Ecomagination website because it is informative and interactive. It consists of demonstrations on how conserving energy affects money and the environment. It is less practically informative, but the flashy and exciting nature of its presentation could be the catalyst to push passive consumers into the realm of interested consumers. It presents energy consumption in a fun way that could make people excited about finding out ways to save energy. It seems that this website would be especially entertaining for children. True social change must begin with the children's enthusiasm. If children get excited about these concepts, they will inform their parents and peers about what they have learned. If websites about energy are made to inspire children, most parents will have no choice but to get involved and learn ways in which they can conserve energy. Once those children grow up, it is more likely that they will continue to care about conserving energy, and will have the resources to do something useful.

The child effect has been successful in other arenas, as can be seen from personal experience. Recycling, not littering, and using seat belts are concepts that are ingrained in childhood, and they create generations that do these things naturally. Some people in older generations only wear their seat belts because their kids remind them to, since they were alive before the invention or wide adoption of seat belts. Making things fun is another way to generate more interest in a new idea. In another example, making it fun to throw trash in a trash receptacle like Volkswagen's "The World's Deepest Bin", people were less likely to litter on the ground, and even picked up nearby litter to throw away. The "Bottle Bank Arcade Machine," was another similar idea sponsored by Volkswagen. It is very possible that energy savings and smart grids could go the same way. We recommend that companies offering energy saving and Smart Grid opportunities not only inform adults via advertising on energy bills, but also take advantage of the power of childlike enthusiasm.

Works Cited

GE Ecomagination: http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/landing_page

Google PowerMeter: http://www.google.com/powermeter/about/index.html

Recycling with the "Bottle Bank Arcade Machine": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSiHjMU-MUo&feature=player_embedded 

Trash with "The World's Deepest Bin": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbEKAwCoCKw&feature=related

Xcel Energy SmartGridCity: http://smartgridcity.xcelenergy.com/index.asp

Briefly describe your own interests, experiences, actions, changes in your behavior (if any) related to “energy awareness”!

From our experiences, we were taught to turn off power when we aren't using it. As people start to live on their own, they see their bills and may be motivated to conserve more. For example, Bobby started living in a house with some friends. His first bill from Excel was about $300, and after meeting with his roommates, they agreed to conserve by turning off lights, television, and anything else that was not in use. The bill for the next month drastically fell to about $70.

We feel that after learning more about the smart grid technology, we are probably not going to buy a smart meter or the next new energy efficient toaster. We agreed that if an appliance were to break or if there was a substantial benefit, i.e., drastically reduced bills from buying a new refrigerator, major discounts in the energy bills, then we would be more likely to react or change our behavior on being more "energy aware."

Last semester in a User-Centered Design project class, one of the semester projects was called "Smart Grid for Non-Smart People". It was a project geared towards making Smart Grid technology more interesting and usable for users who are less computer savvy. The project was brought about to increase usage of the Smart Grid because not many users in Boulder were aware of the technology or willing to use it. In this project, most of the costumers with Smart Grid weren't computer savvy, so it was imperative that they come up with research and ideas as to how to do this. Through all of this research, they found that by making this technology more accessible and easy to use, they could attract more of their consumers to use this technology and ultimately save money.

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Authors of this document are the MakeShift Crew:

Albierto Aranda
Andy Truman
Anne Gatchell
Ho Yun "Bobby" Chan
Kyla Maletsky