Habit-learning device will lower energy bills under new clean energy cashback scheme
Issue date: 19th February 2010
Smart control units that learn householders’ energy habits and provide immediate feedback on consumption could give home energy savings of up to 20% without compromising comfort.
The new energy-saving ‘Wattbox’ device is one part of an innovative approach to energy efficient home improvements supported by a £2.1 million grant funded through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and E.ON Strategic Partnership. The grant is part of a five-year joint programme being run by E.ON and EPSRC. It also forms part of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme.
As well as working with standard energy supplies, the Wattbox will help people get the most out of investments, such as solar panels, made in line with the recently-announced feed-in tariffs for small-scale renewable schemes.
Previous studies have found that existing home heating controls, such as timers and thermostats, often make it difficult for people to cut fuel costs because they are too complicated to set correctly. They have also found that by designing an intelligent, automated system that takes the complexity out of the controls, energy use on heating and hot water alone could be reduced by up to 14%.
Dr Peter Boait of De Montfort University, who led development of the Wattbox, says: “The device’s heating controller sets its own schedule by learning householders’ habits according to the times they use hot water and switch on electrical appliances. From this, it sets the thermostat to suit the householder’s lifestyle taking account of the outside temperature.”
The device has a simple display with buttons for ‘More Heat’ or ‘Less Heat’ when the automatic decision doesn’t meet the user’s needs. It also shows how much more, or less, energy is being consumed as a result of their choice. Hot water is provided just before its normal time of use to save energy, with the display turning red to show that the water is ready.
“These devices work because we put people at the centre of our research,” says David Shipworth of University College London, who leads the overall multidisciplinary project investigating ways of reducing energy while maintaining comfort.
There is strong evidence to suggest that giving people immediate feedback on their energy consumption encourages them to make savings. The Wattbox is one of many options that will be explored to allow people to save energy without needing to understand the science behind home energy use.
The team is now planning to work with householders to design a range of stylish and intuitive controls to help householders understand how their home is using energy at a particular time and what choices they can make to result in lower energy use. These will be particularly useful for encouraging people to adopt green technologies, such as heat pumps and solar hot water heating, which can be alienating in their complexity.
“Influencing user behaviour can be challenging,” says Dr Shipworth, and he points to a decade of campaigns urging consumers to save energy. “Involving people in the design of technology and in developing energy reduction strategies offers a new opportunity to make real cuts without undermining comfort.”
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