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Transactive Energy Service System
Collaboration with Post Road Energy & Hitachi to develop a product to assess the ability of a particular flavor of transactive energy, which we call “prices-from-devices” transactive energy, addressing current and future energy needs, while enhancing power grid efficiency.
- Project funded by the Department of Energy
Role
UX Designer
Deliverables
Research paper
Design prototype
Introduction
Transactive energy refers to a market-based method that coordinates energy generation, consumption, storage and delivery among buildings, distributed energy resources, such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels, and the bulk electric power grid.
Through market-based mechanisms, such as real-time double blind auctions, energy needs are harmonized, enhancing the efficiency of the energy system. “TESS” refers to the software platform that my team is building for this project.
The project has been transferred to Hitachi for continued design and research development, with an anticipated Beta version launch in Maine in Fall 2024.
My Roles
Collaborate with software engineers, scientists, and multiple organizations participating in this project to create a first draft that fulfills the requirements set forth by the Department of Energy.
Challenge
Converting the technology into a software platform that allows participants to communicate and interact with the "prices from devices" system. This is intended to enhance energy efficiency.
Design a
software system
Dashboard
1
facilitate interactivity between the system and participants
2
enhance user engagement through customizable settings
3
gamify the experience with incentives such as points and rankings
4
incorporate research-driven features tailored for energy users
1st Deliverables
Transform design requirements into an interactive prototype.
1
facilitate interactivity between the system and participants
Slider button serves as a flexibility bandwidth, enabling users to choose their preference between savings and efficiency, which can vary across different devices.
Let's breakdown each elements:
Hover to see tooltips that convey the relationship between the two variables, which are comfort and savings in the case of a thermostat.
The slider bar represents the real-time energy market, while the slider button reflects the participant's preference settings. However, due to the dynamic nature of the market, they do not always align.
2
enhance user engagement through customizable settings (thermostat)
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Three settings are available to manage savings preferences: -savings, neutral, and +savings. The slider bar adjusts according to the selected saving preference.
Let's breakdown each elements:
Hover over to see the differences between each saving preferences
In this case, the neutral settings offer a temperature flexibility between 4°F and 8°F, meaning the heating process will be faster than the +savings mode but slower than the -savings mode.
Slider bar resized based
on the saving preference
Allow participants to customize their desired temperature settings within the calendar. They can add, drag, and drop entries to fit their lifestyle patterns.
Settings included
Sleep, Active, and Away
2
enhance user engagement through customizable settings (other devices)
Two buttons enable the customization of the battery backup range from the starting point to the endpoint. Additionally, the saving preferences provide flexibility in choosing how quickly or slowly the battery should be charged.
The EV charger allows users to select their desired charging state based on saving preferences. The +Savings mode will extend the charging time for the vehicle.
Water heater settings allow users to choose how quickly they want the water to be heated. The -Savings mode will speed up the heating process.
3
gamify the experience with incentives such as points and rankings
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Questions: Why would participants be interested in the leaderboard?
What motivates the competition?
Based on market research and feedback from industry experts, most energy users are not particularly interested in leaderboards. Therefore, the design should cater to energy users' needs rather than following the typical gamification system with just incentives, points, and rankings. A more sophisticated approach is necessary.
Gamification
In Energy
Sustainability
Trust
Interest
Identfy User Archetypes
-
Influencer
-
Socializer
-
Achiever
-
Explorer
Policy Making
-
Monitoring
-
Identify Issues
-
Guidelines
UIUX Design
-
Features
-
Games
How can we develop a product that integrates gamification to boost sustainable user engagement, ensure trustworthiness, and consistently generate interest?
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Unlike online gaming, where most people tend to be social (Bartle, 1996b), our research found that participants in the energy sector are more inclined towards being achievers and explorers, with their interactions being more system-focused.
4
incorporate research-driven features tailored for energy users
Explorers
Explorers try progressively esoteric actions in wild, out-of-the-way places, looking for interesting features, ie. bugs and figuring out how things work (Bartle, 1996b).
"I haven't tried that one, what's it do?"
"You mean you don't know the shortest route from <room 1> to <room 2>?"
Therefore, all the aforementioned setting features play a significant role in keeping explorers engaged with the system.
Explorer's scenarios in TESS:
"Wait, you mean I can cut down my energy bill by joining the program? How do I do that?"
"I know the way to exploit the system and save extra 5% for the total bill every month!"
Explorer's journey:
Join
Program
Learn
Features
Customize
Settings
Earn
Incentives
Adjust
Settings
Earn
Incentives
Explorer's thoughts:
"I'm curious to see how much I can save by keeping the +savings mode on 24/7 for a month. What additional steps can I take to save even more if all hours are already set to +savings mode?"
Design takeaways for explorers:
Instead of
Restrict only 3 settings to reflect the flexibility options
Allow changes in temperature between 5°F - 10°F difference based on the market price
Enable participants to explore the diversity of flexibility to discover the most optimized solutions
Other considerations for explorers:
From the organization's perspective, how can we maintain system sustainability while minimizing the risk of exploitation?
Policy Makers
Create Guidelines
To Monitor
Features
Achievers
Achievers regard points-gathering and rising in levels as their main goal, and all is ultimately subservient to this (Bartle, 1996b).
"Only 4211 points to go!"
"Sure, I'll help you. What do I get?"
Therefore, the settings should be designed to be challenging, enabling achievers to strive for and reach the top of the rankings.
Achiever's scenarios in TESS:
"I check my settings three times a day to ensure they are correct to obtain more points."
"How can I outperform everyone in my neighborhood to reach the top of the rankings?"
Achiever's journey:
Join
Program
Customize
Settings
Check
Incentives
Check
Rankings
Adjust
Settings
Earn More
Incentives
Achiever's thoughts:
"Why have I been stuck at rank #3 for the past two months, and what can I do to improve my ranking? Perhaps I should check my settings more often to save more energy and move up."
Design takeaways for achievers:
The leaderboard
The tracking system occupied nearly two-thirds of the landing page, allowing achievers to consistently monitor their performance.
However!
The performance tracker will not remain effective without a range of dynamic features. If these features lack variety and become repetitive, achievers will eventually find it boring and disengage from the system.
Other considerations for achievers:
There is a notable overlapping in both personality types - achievers and explorers.
achiever
Explore
Not everyone explores to achieve
But to be an achiever, one must explore
#Ranking
Zipcode
County
States
#Points Earning
Signup
Setup
Execution
Performance
#Incentives
Points
Badges
Giftcards
Rebate
#Strategy
Customization
Unlock
Features
Notifications
Fun Facts/
Tips
My thoughts & reflections for this project
Design Perspective:
I recognize there is significant room for improvement, and if I had more time and resources, I would gladly conduct A/B testing, particularly on the settings features. These features allow participants to specify their preferred temperature, the degree of flexibility they are willing to give the system in adjusting the settings based on market prices, and the extent of this flexibility. While the current design meets its intended purpose, A/B and usability testing are essential to learn the participant's understanding of the interactions.
Research Perspective:
While the current research identifies achievers and explorers as the primary archetypes in non-game context gamification, potential shortcomings need further investigation. One key concern is sampling bias from using Prolific, a third-party survey platform. Participants on Prolific may be more inclined towards exploration and achievement, as their acceptance into the survey pool suggests initial curiosity and active participation. Additionally, those motivated by financial gain are likely to be attentive to survey notifications and quick to participate, which may skew the results towards system-focused behaviors associated with these traits.