Usability of residential thermostats: Preliminary investigations

Meier, Alan; Aragón, Cecilia; Peffer, Therese; Perry, Daniel; Pritoni, Marco

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.03.009

Cited by 79 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…We have begun some initial exploratory usability studies which are described in [120]. We think that there is not a "one-size fits all" solution; we are exploring the elements of good thermostat design, and are currently outlining design principles of programmable thermostats.…”

Section: Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

How people use thermostats in homes: A review

Peffer¹,

Pritoni²,

Meier³

et al. 2011

Building and Environment

Self Cite

275

144

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tResidential thermostats control a substantial portion of both fuel and electrical energyd9% of the total energy consumption in the U.S. Consumers install programmable thermostats to save energy, yet numerous recent studies found that homes with programmable thermostats can use more energy than those controlled manually depending on howdor ifdthey are used. At the same time, thermostats are undergoing a dramatic increase in capability and features, including control of ventilation, responding to electricity price signals, and interacting with a home area network. These issues warrant a review of the current state of thermostats, evaluating their effectiveness in providing thermal comfort and energy savings, and identifying areas for further improvement or research.This review covers the evolution in technologies of residential thermostats; we found few standards and many features. We discuss studies of how people currently use thermostats, finding that nearly half do not use the programming features. The review covers the complications associated with using a thermostat. Finally, we suggest research needed to designdand especially test with usersdthermostats that can provide more comfortable and economical indoor environments.

show abstract

Section: Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

How people use thermostats in homes: A review

Peffer¹,

Pritoni²,

Meier³

et al. 2011

Building and Environment

Self Cite

275

144

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…All of the metrics used consistently produced sufficient ranges in results to demonstrate the robustness of the task-based approach to measuring usability. A wi-fi enabled thermostat with a Web interface and a touch-screen thermostat were clearly superior to other tested thermostats on Tasks 1, 3, and 4, from Meier et al 2011.…”

Section: Thermostat Usabilitymentioning

confidence: 97%

Field Evaluation of Programmable Thermostats

Sachs

Tiefenbeck

Duvier

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Yet several studies have pointed out that buildings designed to be carbon neutral are found not to be so in practice, and that the difference between the design intention and the actual performance is due to the behavior of occupants and the complexity of the interface to energy management systems [13,28]. Usability studies of home thermostats found that homes with programmable thermostats consumed more energy than those relying on manual thermostats [22]: occupants found thermostats baffling to operate and many people were unable to fully exploit even the basic features of modern programmable thermostats. Furthermore, a recent study of the NEST automated thermostat showed that while residents initially were engaged in interacting with the new device, over time they settled into patterns that resulted in missed opportunities for energy savings [30].…”

Section: Smart Home Engagement and Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conversations with my washing machine

Bourgeois

Linden

Kortuem

et al. 2014

Proceedings of the 2014 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Domestic microgeneration is the onsite generation of lowand zero-carbon heat and electricity by private households to meet their own needs. In this paper we explore how an everyday household routine -that of doing laundry -can be augmented by digital technologies to help households with photovoltaic solar energy generation to make better use of self-generated energy. This paper presents an 8-month inthe-wild study that involved 18 UK households in longitudinal energy data collection, prototype deployment and participatory data analysis. Through a series of technology interventions mixing energy feedback, proactive suggestions and direct control the study uncovered opportunities, potential rewards and barriers for families to shift energy consuming household activities and highlights how digital technology can act as mediator between household laundry routines and energy demand-shifting behaviors. Finally, the study provides insights into how a "smart" energy-aware washing machine shapes organization of domestic life and how people "communicate" with their washing machine.

show abstract

Usability of residential thermostats: Preliminary investigations

Cited by 79 publications

References 15 publications

How people use thermostats in homes: A review

How people use thermostats in homes: A review

Field Evaluation of Programmable Thermostats

Conversations with my washing machine

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About