User Analysis
We interviewed three users, each of whom typifies a different user class for our application.
Home owners
User A is a home owner who has some familiarity with desktop applications and mobile phone apps.
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He would share these energy-management tasks with a small number of other employees. The application should provide a secure interface for allowing to grant access to multiple users.
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Monitor energy consumption of each device, and of groups of devices
- Present the smart devices available in the facility in an organized manner
- Aggregated consumption information of the entire facility is easily accessible
- Aggregated consumption information for each device is easily accessible
- Allow consumption information be broke up by time periods
Control devices
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Users will be able to monitor the current energy consumption of each device. They will also be able to view historical usage information for each device, broken up by time period, and see aggregated usage information for groups of devices.
In order for users to interpret the data, they will require a basic understanding of energy and the units it is measured in. They will also need to know which devices are being monitored by the application.
The information should be clearly labeled and units should be provided. Each device should be recognizably named, and devices should be able to be organized into user-defined, named groups. Users will often want to get a quick, high-level view of their consumption patterns, so the information should be easily glanceable.
Control devices
Users will be able to control devices from the application, turning them on and off or changing their settings.
In order to perform this task, users will need to understand the functionality of a device and the meaning of its settings. When choosing settings, users may take into account the current status of the device (for instance, is the dishwasher currently washing dishes?), its current and historical usage information, and the current and historical prices of power, as provided by the grid.
View price information received from grid
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Users will be able to view the current and historical pricing information of power, as provided by the grid. As with the energy consumption data, price information will be broken up by time period. Users will also be able to configure notifications about pricing changes. For instance, they may ask to be notified when the price of energy reaches a certain level, or when peak vs. non-peak pricing goes into effect.
In order to interpret this information, users will need to understand energy and the units it is priced in. They will also need some knowledge of the smart grid, in order to understand the way pricing information changes over time, and to understand the concept of peak vs. non-peak usage.
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Sell generated power back to utility company
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Users will be able to make money by selling extra generated power back to the
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utility company. To sell power, they will schedule a transaction, specifying the amount of power to be sold and the time at which to sell it. They will be able to view, modify, or cancel pending transactions.
The sale of power requires more in-depth knowledge of the smart grid. Users will need to understand how power is priced, where it goes when sold, and how and when they are paid for the transaction. They will need to have some knowledge of their own usage patterns in order to decide how much power to sell. They will also want to consult the current and historical pricing information in order to decide when it is most profitable to sell their power.
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