New Applications

Finding an effective way to present data, so it is useful to consumers, can be a tricky problem. There are many different ways to present data and each has its pros and cons. We need to find effective ways to incorporate Oahu's electrical usage data and geographical locations. This information can be very useful if presented correctly.

One idea is to present the usage information and group it by areas. An image of the island would be displayed and segmented into different areas. Users would be able to access an area's information by clicking the appropriate section of the island. This will allow consumers to get a general idea of electrical usage by others in the same area and allow them to compare their own usage with the average. Then, they will be able to adjust their usage as they feel necessary.

Another idea is to group the usage information by zip code. This will give a more detailed view of the usage information pertaining to a consumer. They will be able to see the usage of others in their neighborhood. This will give them a better idea of where they stand compared to their neighbors. As for the user interface, it may be better to have text input boxes or drop down menus for the zip codes because it may be difficult to produce an image of the island that is segmented by zip code.

The popularity of smart phones has introduced a new technology that can be used to reach users. Creating an application for smart phones seems like it would be an interesting and beneficial experience. Smart phones are basically a mini computer with phone capability. Also, users usually have their phones with them where ever they go which would allow them to use an application just about whenever they want. Currently, we are considering creating applications for the Apple iPhone and Google Android Phone.

Apple iPhone:


Google myTouch:

HEEP Visualization Data

Our prototypes are finally functional and display data that is stored in Google Spreadsheets. This was a huge step which allowed us to schedule a meeting with the Hawaii Energy Efficiency Program to show them our prototypes. The next step was to find actual data to populate the spreadsheet.

In order to have realistic looking visualizations, we needed to find actual numbers that correspond to the electricity used by appliances in each of the categories we cover. This turned out to be more difficult than I thought it would be. After getting into the research of the electrical characteristics of the various appliances, I began to notice that not all appliance specifications are standard. Some had the information that I required and some were very scarce. This led me to make assumptions to try to determine the data that we required. There were also a lot of unit conversions involved that made things more difficult. The data we have now is based on actual data from appliance specifications sheets, but I am hopeful that HEEP might already have the data we need to make our visualizations useful.

Here is a link to our spreadsheet.

Working on these visualizations has been an experience. It has allowed us to use our imaginations to design different visualizations. We have taken ideas and turned them into real prototypes. For the next milestone, I hope that HEEP becomes more involved in the design and requirements process, so we are not guessing about the data and what they want. This would make our job easier and increase the chances that they get the applications that they want.

HEEP: Milestone 2

We have finally reached Milestone 2. For this Milestone, we wanted to have working prototypes that were packaged as Google Gadgets. We were able to create gadgets for the appliance savings comparator, negawatts, and HCEI goals prototypes.

Learning Javascript has been a major portion of the learning curve for this project. In order to get the prototypes working, we had to use Javascript functions to pull data from our Google Spreadsheets. While initially it seemed like a simple task, it took a lot of research in order to actually implement it. However, the effort was definitely worth while because we increased our Javascript knowledge in the process and we are now able to pull data from Google spreadsheets with relative ease. This has broadened the types of applications that we can create.

We also learned how to package our prototypes as Google Gadgets which has increased our applications' portability. Our applications can be used stand-alone or added to iGoogle as a gadget on a user's homepage. This allows users to easily incorporate our applications with minimal effort.

The display of Negawatts generated by HEEP has been updated so values are read from a spreadsheet on load and placed into the application. Changes have been made to the spreadsheet to simplify its use. Originally, different models were used to calculate the amount of negawatts generated. While this was a more accurate model of the negawatts generated, it was more time consuming when new models were entered. Originally, every time a rebate was given for a model that did not exist in the spreadsheet, its information had to be added to the spreadsheet. Instead, we opted to use an average savings for each appliance. This greatly simplified the spreadsheet and hopefully makes it more user-friendly. The simplified spreadsheet is shown below the gadget screenshot.





The appliance savings comparator was also updated to allow values to be read from a Google spreadsheet on load. This application contains drop-down menus which allow a user to select a specific model to see its savings. Based on the user's selection, the appropriate data is loaded from the spreadsheet. This application was also put into a Google gadget.



The prototype that displays HCEI goals displays the progress of achieving its goals by comparing actual progress with the original projections. The goals that are visualized are that 40% of the total energy generated are from renewable sources and that the total energy generation is reduced by 30%.



We are getting closer to scheduling a meeting with HEEP to show them our prototypes. A few modifications and improvements still need to be made, but the core functionality has been accomplished. After becoming a little more familiar with Javascript, progress has increased and we are now able to produce the prototypes much faster. I look forward to showing HEEP our prototypes. I also hope that they have more suggestions for other applications that we could potentially create.

HEEP Week 7: Ideas to Reality

We were finally able to smooth out the details for some of our mock-ups which allowed us to begin implementing prototypes. We have started to create prototypes for the energy star appliance savings, negawatts generated by HEEP, and progress towards HCEI goals.

The appliance savings prototype shows a list of different types of appliances that qualify for a HEEP rebate. The application reads in values from Google spreadsheets based on the model of appliance that is selected from the drop down menu for that appliance category. Then, the amount of savings for that model is displayed as the amount of savings from the rebate and the yearly savings from reduced electricity consumption. This gadget shows consumers the financial benefits of being energy efficient and hopefully encourages them to purchase an energy star appliance.



The negawatts generated by HEEP rebates prototype provides consumers a way to see the impact that HEEP rebates are having. The prototype also includes a pie chart that shows a breakdown of negawatt generation by the different appliances that rebates are available for. On the bottom of the application, a comparison of the amount of money saved based on negawatt generation per dollar will be displayed. The tool-tip will include more information than the tool-tip in the mock-up. The information that the tool-tip contains will include a negawatt definition, information about the calculations that were performed, and assumptions that we made. Shown below is a screen shot of the prototype we have created. We still need to add more functionality, but it is a good start.



The application that shows the progress towards HCEI goals has been modified, so energy generated by non-renewable resources is shown using dark colors. The energy generated by renewable resources is shown with light colors. The use of contrasting colors highlights the different sources that were used to generate the energy. This chart shows users that the total amount of energy consumed will be decreasing and a large portion of the energy consumed will be generated by renewable resources. Shown below is a screen shot of the application.



It is pretty neat to see our ideas turning into real applications. After breaking away from the mindset of needing specifications for the project, we have been able to become creative with our ideas. It took some getting used to because this is not the normal way class assignments are accomplished.

We will continue to implement the rest of our mock-ups and schedule a meeting with HEEP to present our prototypes. I am anxious to see HEEP's reaction to the applications that we have created. I am hopeful that they will like our applications and provide us useful feedback that can be used to further improve our designs.