Visualizing and gamifying consumption data for resource saving: challenges, lessons learnt and a research agenda for the future. enCOMPASS presentation at the 8th DACH+ Conference on Energy Informatics, Salzburg, Austria, September 2019

1. DTI / IDSIA / DACH+ Energy Informatics 2019
Visualizing and gamifying consumption data for resource
saving:
challenges, lessons learnt and a research agenda for the future
Presented by:
Andrea Emilio Rizzoli
IDSIA USI/SUPSI
Piero Fraternali, Francesca Cellina, Sergio Luis Herrera, Mark
Melenhorst, Jasminko Novak, Chiara Pasini, and Andrea
Emilio Rizzoli

2. DTI / IDSIA / DACH+ Energy Informatics 2019 2
Resource saving in buildings
Demand-side management and user involvement
Efficiency
measures on
building
envelope and
HVAC system

3. DTI / IDSIA / DACH+ Energy Informatics 2019 3
ICT-based behavioural change interventions
Availability of
smart metering and
sensoring
infrastructures
support
development of ICT-
based behavioural
change
interventions

4. DTI / IDSIA / DACH+ Energy Informatics 2019 4
Webportals and apps for resource saving 1
Webportals and apps
•target increase in user
awareness on consumption
patterns
•motivate users to reduce their
level of consumption and/or shift
it to off-peak periods
They are increasingly offered by utility companies
within customer-fidelity programmes,
in liberalized markets

5. DTI / IDSIA / DACH+ Energy Informatics 2019 5
• (Real time) feedback on resource
consumption and its impact
(e.g. CO2 emissions)
• Monitoring over time
• Gamification
• Goal setting
• Rewards for achievements
• Challenges
• Customised tips and
recommendations
• Social comparison
Webportals and apps for resource saving 2

6. DTI / IDSIA / DACH+ Energy Informatics 2019 6
• Do demand-side management
interventions exploiting such tools deliver
the expected resource-saving outcomes?
• Which are the main technical and design
challenges affecting effectiveness of such
interventions?
• How can they be overcome?
Research questions
We address these questions based on
personal experience in a number of projects and
comparison with EU-funded H2020 cluster projects

7. DTI / IDSIA / DACH+ Energy Informatics 2019
The ten most frequent technical and design challenges
7
Acquire data
Set baselines
Ensure user
engagement
Design for different
motivations
Model users to fine-
tune gamification
Provide guidance
and education
Respect privacy
Design how to
assess the effects
Ensure post-
intervention impact
Avoid rebound
effects
Before the
intervention
During the
intervention
After the
intervention

8. DTI / IDSIA / DACH+ Energy Informatics 2019
Acknowledgments
• This research received funding from the enCOMPASS project (Grant N.
723059)
• http://www.encompass-project.eu
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