New
Measures
Project Summary
The ‘New Measures� project aims to help Philadelphia residents understand their resource consumption, in an effort to change wasteful behavior. Currently, resource usage in the kitchen is clearly monitored and bills that users receive often lack clear information. By finding solutions to these problems, we believe it will be possible to reduce the volume of resources flowing through the average kitchen. We believe we have identified several key opportunities that will either change the way that people behave or alter the chore function of common fixtures and appliances. Through research, observation, analysis and interviews, we have developed several key areas of focus.
Refrigerator
Meter
Faucet
Monitor
Usage
Water Marker
On average we spend 49.5 minutes preparing, cooking, eating and cleaning in the kitchen each day. Yet 33% of all household resources pass though this space. The concepts and tool outlined here can be used in other living spaces or places of employment. We began with the kitchen because of cultural significance and great opportunity for positive impact.
DOWN TIME
The fridge is the greatest single user of home energy. 14% of all household energy passes through the fridge. To the tune of 156 Billion Kwh. Can we begin with a simple, scalable way to reduce refrigerator energy use? Could we implement a controlled power outage in the middle of the night? With a simple timer and a backup thermostat we could shutoff the fridge for several hours a night. The refrigerator sleeps when you do. This device places the responsibility back on the appliance itself. This could be a galvanizing concept, which could be scaled up to the entire kitchen and household, invisibly reducing wasted energy. This tool would be particularly valuable for older fridges. State-of-the-art EnergyStar appliances already include similar features. The value lies in the realization that most people don’t ever throw a fridge away. They either place it in the garage as a second fridge or give it away.
OVER FLOW
How much water runs down your drain each day? 30% of all water is used in the kitchen. Most household have no way to tell how much water is used in the kitchen nor how much of that water is wasted. A simple water wheel driven counter could give active, real-time feedback. It would report just how much water was used. The function would be identical to a trip odometer in a car. You can reset it each meal, each day, each week or each month but the feedback is always there to help you understand your actions. Application: • provides clearer information • tracks ongoing habit change • simply quantifies volume and use • display monetary resource information • no ‘guess work’ or estimation
HASH MARK
This simple tool could help re-establish the water measuring stick or value marker that left the kitchen when running water entered. A series of hash-marks or lines could be applied to the inside of a sink, a pitcher, bathtub, etc. These layers of measurement could provide a very inexpensive but clear way to understand how your own actions relate to water use. An inexpensive pilot program could even include a set of stickers in bill mailers to asses adoption and success rates. Most of us have a very poor sense of water volume and rate-flow. This unlearned sense of water is further exacerbated by not having many ways to measure the volume of water between four cups and five gallons. There is of course, the ‘milk jug’, but it is difficult to apply that ‘measure’ to other areas.
TECH TALK
Do you have any idea what your bill is telling you? An opportunity for information and service design. Utility bills are a unique opportunity for resource providers to interface customers and users. Unfortunately these bills seem to be filled almost exclusively with legal jargon and technical equations. Fortunately research shows that very simple feedback loops can have unproportional positive impact. Some of these feedback loops are as simple as “your doing even better than last month, keep up the good work”. Or “Your neighbors are saving more money than you are”, or the universal four year-old favorite “you got a gold star”. Not only might some goals and useful tools be well received, but some reduction in resource use it positive for both the utility provider and the consumer. Permits to build new power plants and treatment facilities are become more and more difficult to obtain, so this could be a double incentive. Not only are there clear financial incentives, but the community benefits from better air and water quality in addition to reduced utility costs.
Process
Research shows that America uses more energy than many other developed nation. In addition, we use more water than the United Kingdom, China, India, and the Philippines combined. Approximately one-third of that energy and water is used in the kitchen. The refrigerator and sink use the most energy and water, respectively. Thus it appears essential to develop concepts that change the nature of how we interact with these fixtures of American life. We examined models that encourage people to use less, such as the Prius and Placebo effect. The Prius Effect proves that when people can see exactly what they are using, it encourages them to use less. The Placebo Effect shows that when people are told that they are being metered, they will typically use less, regardless of whether or not it is true. These and many other tools and techniques were applied to this broad and complex problem. This pamphlet is a range of approaches developed thus far.
Future Plans
The Resource Awareness project will move forward by continuing concept developments and engaging in user testing to obtain feedback. More visual language will be applied for energy and water bills that will simplify reading complex information regarding resource usage. The sink and refrigerator resource solutions will also undergo extensive trials in multiple kitchens throughout the Philadelphia area to test feasibility and discover additional opportunities and possible improvements. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop a conversation of feedback that will guide residents to understand their use of resources at all times, making the kitchen more transparent and information more accessible.
Future Project Direction:
• Continue Field Testing and Development • Increase Functionality of Prototypes • Show Further Proof of Concept • Develop More Opportunities for Partner Input • Present Concepts and Prototypes to Larger Audience • Expand Metering Opportunities and Concepts
Conceptual project goals:
• show value of resources • quantify value of habit change • show proof of concept • play to intelligence and hope • make habit change simple • leveraging previously untapped project areas
Developed by the Master’s of Industrial Design Lab at The University of the Arts Lead Developer: Gabe Maricich