People and Electricity

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

http://keepfakingit.com	61
http://www.nodesign.net	50
http://fultonschools.edmodo.com	13
http://www.slideshare.net	10
http://www.edmodo.com	7
http://agrega2.educa.madrid.org	6
http://bb-app.csufresno.edu	2
http://www.google.co.uk	1
http://www.techgig.com	1

People and Electricity

by nicolas nova

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