Using sonic interaction to present energy usage in a home

Abstract: Household consumption is a major part of global energy usage [13]. It is known that displaying energy usage data regarding a household’s consumption can reduce its overall energy consumption [2,3,5,8,9]. This paper explores the possibilities of displaying energy data in households using sonification, or the display of data using sound. Specifically, a interaction is designed in order to sonify the ranking of a theoretical household’s energy sources. Sounds are developed, connecting each energy source to one sound. A physical interface is used to provide a basis for the sonic interaction. The research questions are how well those sounds are identified to each energy source, and how well the interaction portrays the energy ranking. Both questions are handled in a interaction test in a controlled environment, where each test subject alone uses the interface. Furthermore the sound identification is also evaluated in a separate survey. The results were inconclusive. Generally, sounds with less abstraction to its energy source were more easily identified. Due to several sources of error, the effectiveness of the interface was not decisively identified.