Comments on: ‘Smart meters’: some thoughts from a design point of view

By: British Gas Energy Smart

British Gas Energy Smart — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:32:56 +0000

I heard about the smart meters and it seems very useful for the households. This article gives so much valuable information about it. I knew about the self-monitoring feature of “smart meters” but I did not hear about the other features. Most of the articles about smart meters are so superficial but this one really mentions the important details about the issue.

Thanks for providing this information.

By: Alan Stanton

Alan Stanton — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:56:43 +0000

As a local councillor and a complete amateur on these issues, I find this fascinating. The public policy implications seem endless – especially when we are trying to be a “green borough”.

Our libraries now lend energy monitors. So I read the posts above with great interest.

It seems there’s a serious disconnection between the rhetoric of politicians and even sensible and well-intentioned policymakers, and the realities of day-to-day life.

By: smart meters with intent « IT goes Green

smart meters with intent « IT goes Green — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:54:08 +0000

[...] Design with Intent: Smart meters. Some thoughts from a design point of view; June 18th, 2009 [...]

By: Putting people first » Design for sustainable behaviour

Putting people first » Design for sustainable behaviour — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:27:47 +0000

[...] ‘Smart meters’: some thoughts from a design point of view June 2009 Lockton’s response to the three most design-related questions in the smart meter consultation by the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change Design for behaviour change: The design with intent toolkit v.0.9 [poster] April 2009 The Design with Intent Toolkit aims to help designers faced with ‘design for behaviour change’ briefs. The poster* features 12 design patterns which recur across design ﬁelds (interaction, products, architecture), and there are also 35 more detailed here on the website. >> See also these blog posts on what is happening with the toolkit: part 1 and part 2 [...]

By: Interesting GB Article on Customer Interface/Meter Display « meterpedia.com

Interesting GB Article on Customer Interface/Meter Display « meterpedia.com — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:19:23 +0000

[...] article presents a non-utility perspective on the challenge of establishing the correct level of mandate [...]

By: tatty « Alternate Seat of TYR

tatty « Alternate Seat of TYR — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:20:55 +0000

[...] 28, 2009 in architecture, democracy, energy, engineering Brilliant post from Dan Lockton on the design problems of making smart meters usable and [...]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:28:38 +0000

Nevermind getting the machine to turn on and cycle at 1:30. Who is going to move everything to the dryer at 2:10? Or take it all out, fold it, and hang it neatly in the closet at 3:30? A household robot? When, 2015 or 2020 or even beyond?

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:25:45 +0000

A couple of responses from a discussion some friends and I had elsewhere:

I have yet to give this a more thorough read, but I have been drawn to the pictures! The 'feed forward' adds an additional frustration. I'm not going to be up at 1:30 to run the washing machine, my washing machine does not allow me to pre set a start time. Therefore I'm frustrated that my lifestyle and appliance force me to be inefficient, why should I change? These can be seen as the unattainable fuel figures supplied by car manufacturers.

That was my point, how many people who are up at 1.30 to put the washing on?! Although Dan says fancy washing machines have a timer, problem being the majority of people who would benefit from saving a few quid probably can't afford to buy one. I realise I'm ignoring the eco benefits but that side of things will be limited if people can't afford that type of washing machine.

One solution would be to plug the washing machine into a timer plug, but where does the average person find this out?

They're both right of course - maybe I should add this point into the article. The government consultation does keep mentioning time-of-use pricing where if it's cheaper to use things at certain times, they assume that people will magically do that, but as you say, it's a lot of hassle and people don't necessarily know how to do it. Maybe the electricity companies (who seem to want these meters most) should provide people with free timer plugs, but then how accessible is it going to be, stuck at floor level behind the washing machine?