that many consumers aspire to become
Resource Man and indeed expect this
as an outcome of the emerging smart
grid. However, other consumer research
suggests the uptake of technologies
like in-home displays (IHD) and home
energy management (HEM) systems,
which provide detailed consumption
feedback, have been slower than
anticipated, and that terms such as
smart grid, kilowatt hour, and energy
portal are not well understood.
Despite these concerns, a global effort
is now under way to bring Resource
Man into reality.
REALIZING RESOURCE MAN
There are four clear strategies that
Resource Man is thought to embrace
and through which most consumer
research, policy, programs, and
technology design and development
are focused. These revolve around the
provision of data and smart technology,
and can be broadly defined as energy
feedback, dynamic pricing, home
automation, and micro-generation.
I cover the first and third of these
strategies here. However, it is important
to note that there other strategies, such
as greater uptake of electric vehicles and
the gamification of energy demand, that
are also emerging.
Resonating with the rhetoric of the
health sector, electricity utilities are
helping their energy consumers become
“energy fit” and “active” as they move
them toward their new role as Resource
Man. This does not necessarily mean
going on a resource diet, but implies
getting smarter and more informed
about resource decisions through
access to information about their
energy consumption. This involves a
considerable amount of effort, which
is needed to learn about energy and its
impacts. Effort on consumers’ behalf is
required to overcome the “disconnect
between what consumers know about
their electricity use and what they
need to know for smarter energy use
decisions” [ 9], the intention being that
through increased energy knowledge,
consumers will better manage their
energy consumption. Consumer
participation in the electricity system
and in energy demand reduction is
defined and contained within the
scope of managing and acting on
personalized data.
The primary methods by which this
information is provided are in-home
displays (IHDs), energy monitors,
home energy management (HEM)
systems, and website portals, which
provide detailed energy feedback on
a household’s resource consumption
(kilowatt hours), costs of energy
(detailed billing information), and
resource impacts (greenhouse gas
emissions). The HCI community has
played a strong role in contributing
to the innovative design of these
technologies, and many of these
educational efforts are being accelerated
through government mandates and
industry partnerships.
A second key strategy for realizing
Resource Man involves the provision
of technologies that seek to automate
appliances, lights, or the home itself
so that energy management is taken
care of on the occupants’ behalf. Direct
load-control programs that automate
air conditioners, hot-water systems, or
pool pumps are a common example of
this strategy, as are programmable or
smart thermostats and the emergence of
smart appliances that can be controlled
remotely via smartphones.
In contrast to the vision of the active
consumer, the strategy of automation
assumes that humans are primarily
lazy, too busy, or simply uninterested
in managing their energy data. They
not only want control over their energy
consumption but they also want “cruise
control” [ 10], and this means putting in
as little effort as possible. They should
be able to tell their technologies how
they want them to respond and then
“let the system do the watching” [ 10].
Data is still essential here, although
in this case data communicates with
technology rather than people. For
example, a high-price signal might send
a message to the washing machine to
turn off at a certain time.
Resource Man features in this
strategy as an efficient end-use
programmer, able and willing to pre-
program and automate many of his
household appliances, such as the pool
pump or air conditioner. He also allows
signals sent from electricity providers
to automate appliances on his behalf.
Effort is still required here, in terms of
sourcing and setting up the enabling
technologies, but much of the day-to-
day effort of monitoring and managing
energy consumption is reassigned to
these technologies (or to those who
design and control them). This is
again a primarily masculine vision of
technology use, focused on functional
and goal-centered ideals that resonate
strongly with engineering disciplines.
These two seemingly contradictory
strategies of encouraging active
consumption or passive automation
are sometimes used to differentiate
between types of consumers (e.g., those
JULY–AUGUST 2014 INTERACTIONS 27 INTERACTIONS.ACM.ORG
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