Casa
*
Home Utility Consumption Application
Case Study // Product Design
Work In Progress - 2023
Made By:
Timothy Edison, Jon Enrique Donato, Jacob Capablanca
What Is Casa
Casa transforms utility management in shared households into a engaging game. It inspires users to reduce consumption, contributing to environmental sustainability by cutting down on nonrenewable resources like fossil fuels. Plus, it helps you save money by encouraging mindful spending!
How Casa Works
Designed for
communal areas within shared households
Centralises data and motivates shared households to manage their utility usage together
Also functions as a customisable picture frame in its inactive state.
Design
Brief
The idea of Casa came through a mutual understanding between the designers that household utility consumption is a subject of mutual interest that needs to be addressed. The design brief of this project requires us to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as such, our group chose Goal 11 and 12.
Sustainable Cities and
Communities
Refers to the need to make cities resilient and sustainable in the face of current and future threats
11
Responsible Consumption and Production
Addresses responsible consumption and production, where in Australia high energy consumption per capita is prevalent
12
Research
Process
Our team conducted a comprehensive research process in order to better understand the needs of Casa users. This process included 13 academic sources, 6 online ethnography sources, a comprehensive questionnaire with 40 respondents, and interviews with 6 different individuals.
Academic Research
(13)
Online Ethnography
(6)
Questionnaire
(40)
Interviews
(6)
Insights
Internal
Consolidating Utility Information from Separate Providers
- Separate platforms for utility bills from different providers hinder holistic usage tracking for consumers.
Incentives
- Financial incentives drive utility consumption management.
- Users propose gamification via ranking to compare usage with nearby tenants. Integration into lifestyle desired for accountability and reminders.
Current Payment System
- Outdated payment structures hinder engagement in utility management for autocratic households, pushing for more simplified 'split even' systems with incentivised utility summaries.
Information Displayed
- Users found utility management tool information unclear, with undisclosed fees upon sign-up.
- Translating metrics into dollar values could enhance actionability.
Insights
External
Prices
- Participants reporting 20-80% electricity price spikes, seek to monitor usage for cost savings.
- Unclear price increase notifications causes confusion during billing.
Negative Experience When Needing Assistance
- Selecting a utility company can be overwhelming, especially for older individuals less familiar with technology. Some express frustration: "they are different companies. So you have to shop for which company is giving you a better deal."
- Negative experiences with customer service, like rudeness and ineffective communication, were reported. Additionally, long wait times on calls were common, with one user mentioning, "...you might spend 3/4 hr on the phone…"
Ideation
Our team developed 3 different user personas based on our research data. these 3 different personas reflect our users’ goals in Casa. These needs are then quantified as our criterias of success, which there are 7 of.
User Personas
Papa Peter
Student Stella
55, full-time worker
24, full-time student
Two teenage children
Two roommates
Tech Saviness
Tech Saviness
Goals
Goals
Encourage his family to practise less wasteful habits to save on utilities and allocate the money elsewhere i.e holidays.
Develop economical habits to save money while living in a three-way shared home.
Lousy Louie
30, full-time worker
Lives alone
Tech Saviness
Goals
Start being more conscious of utility usage and learn how to reduce costs.
Seven Crtieria to Evaluate Success
1
. . . provides accessible viewing of a household’s utility usage and bill to all household members
. . . enables the total utility usage of a household to be broken down so each member’s individual usage can be measured
2
3
. . . includes features that proactively notifies users of potential utility waste
. . . provides and notifies users of current and projected cost trends in the energy market
4
5
. . . provides a detailed breakdown of all power consumption, including power lost through ‘idle loads’
6
. . . includes weekly, daily or hourly summaries of utility usage
7
. . . includes financial incentives to propel action against wasteful habits
Generated Ideas & Storyboards
1
All In One
App
A single comprehensive app that aggregates detailed electricity, water and gas utility summaries together for holistic tracking.
Summarised pages of electricity, water and gas usage are one swipe away
Collated bills and payment history for electricity, water and gas
Utility cost predications and warnings
Electricity Dashboard
Electricity Focus
Payment Page
Monthly, weekly and daily summaries.
Detailed breakdown of usage from room, to appliance consumption, including idle loads.
Ability to pay bill directly from app
Louie has wasteful habits and does not actively track his utility consumption.
Shocked by the cost of his last utility bills,
Louie installs an app to track his next one.
Louie begins tracking his usage, reading and comparing his daily summaries.
Louie learns which appliances consumes idle load, and is warned of cost spikes.
Louie holistically tracks his electrical,
water and gas summaries with ease.
Louie successfully pays his next monthly bills, being more conscious of his habits.
2
Leaderboard with detailed usage summaries
Sims Fridge
A single hub in a shared household that simulates the home tracking every member's utility usage, sets team challenges and provides team goals. It facilitates cooperation through a gamified experience.
Team-orientated challenges and goals
Customisation
Transparent status of utility usage around the home.
Stella and her roomies receive a fat bill and argue who takes longer showers.
They install a new smart fridge with a built in HUD. They build their house, and avatars.
They see each other's usage, and begin policing each other's bad habits.
They compete in a leaderboard,
and delegate chores accordingly.
Together, they complete challenges and even compete against other households.
They do their bills together, analysing summaries and cooperating next steps.
3
Door
Panels
A single hub in a shared household that simulates the home tracking every member's utility usage, sets team challenges and provides team goals. It facilitates cooperation through a gamified experience.
Individual appliance tracking
Proactive reminders
Tracks and warns for overusage
Defined and transparent usage between users.
Peter wants his teenage children to practise good habits due to larger bills.
He installs door panels across all the rooms of their house. Sue and Seoro are confused.
The new system begins regulating their usage, giving warnings of overusage.
Sue and Seoro gain good consumption habits and overall bill cost decreases.
Sue and Seoro are taught to quit leaving appliances and lights on.
Peter can supervise his children's usage every hour of the day. He is very proud.
To Be Continued