Design Concepts in Energy Displays

Arriving all the way from Brussels we can find a series of interesting design concepts to report and track household energy consumption. Most conventional products getting developed look more like traditional programmable thermostats, but this exhibition is anything but ordinary.

The Visual Voltage Exhibition at Design Vlaanderen is definitely pushing the envelope. The show hopes to provide information on electricity, energy consumption, and environmental issues. Whether or not you come to the conclusion that any of these concepts are practical, they at least give you an opportunity to think about it in an entirely different light.

With Power Smart Pricing getting price information to our customers in an easy way is of utmost importance. We are constantly seeking and examining the ways in which our participants want and currently receive their information. Since the price of electricity changes each hour, ease of access to the information becomes a high priority.

In the past we have incorporated a great tool called The Price Light. It is an orb that changes colors in a range of blue (for the lowest prices) to red (the highest). We have documented data that shows that participants using the Price Light shifted more of their electricity to lower priced times. Due to technology restraints, reliability concerns, and cost we had to discontinue its use, but since we have been eager to fill its void with another device.

No one would have guessed that a light that changed colors could do some much. Check out the designs from the visual voltage exhibition here.