people and electricity
nicolas nova - liftlab
ENSCI, Paris - October 2008

what I do: observing practice, usage and reprensentation

what is electricity for us?

magical spin / the electrical fairy

what is behind the power plug is unknown and mysterious

formula: electricity as we learned how it is

bills: electricity as we learnt how it can be materialized

a difficulty to name electrical phenomena
• “Scientific”: AC/DC, units (watts, volts), electron/
current...
• Nature: thunder, lightning...
• Generally easier to use artifacts (lamp) or
functions (most important roles: heat and light,
then cooking, cleaning and using media)
• Sometimes the infrastructures help: production
(power station) and circulation (cables)
• Intangible till electrocution

let’s observe how electricity is mediated through artifacts

front-end: electrical appliances

front-end: power plug/adapters

front-end: electrical switchgear and meters
interface with electrical infrastructure (control
and consumption, measure the $ through a
number often found to be unlegible by people)

front-end: electrical switchgear and meters
actually a
mapping of
the spatial
environment
(each button
corresponds to a
certain place in
the home)

each button corresponds to a red square

in some countries switchgear are outdoor!
depending on the culture, theyʼre not at the same
place and not always “protected” (e.g. indoor in
France, outdoor in Canada). Electrical consumption
is then more public and less personal.

back-end: underlying infrastructure we don’t see at home

back-end: underlying infrastructure we don’t see outdoor
PROJECT
DATE

the need to “reveal”
electricity

electricity revealed by warning signs

revealing the infrastructure
Peruvian house that actually reveals the electrical
infrastructure from the meter to other house parts
with white paint.

aging infrastructures
“The world constantly decays. Moisture gets in.
Damp hangs around. Ice expands joints. Surfaces
wear thin. Particles fall out of suspension. Materials
rot. Insects breed. Animals chew. All kinds of
wildlife war with all kinds of fabric. Humans make
errors.Each process of dilapidation does its special
harm and releases new ‘wastes’”
Graham and Thrift

accident / problems
• Problems feel important if they last more than a
day.
• Leads to strategies, bricolage
• Foreseeable (too many devices at the same time)
or unpredictable (lightning strike)
• Explicable and not explicable

intriguing practices

night life of electrical appliances
approximately 15% of peopleʼs electricity bills can be
saved if these lights were switched off.

but blinking lights have a role too
enable people to get a concrete sign of activity for their
artifacts

protection (for kids) in south korea

stealing electricity
hacking the electrical
infrastructure in South
America

electricity ownership
the airport in Brussels prevent you to “steal” electricity

electricity ownership
in this french bar you have to pay 1 euro to plug your
laptop in

modular electricity: batteries to power your home devices

take aways
• A complex domaine, diversity of
usages
• Invisible, hence mediating objects
(bills, switchgear, infrastructures...)
• Electricity is represented subjectively
and contextually
• Design opportunities: sustainability
(consumption regulation), security,
visibility (reveal the invisible)...

producing electricity
merci
nicolas@liftlab.com