Across a variety of energy conservation programs and tools, energy data visualizations are common components used to inform and influence behavior. Several studies have explored map-based energy data visualizations and found that they compare favorably to conventional charts and graphs, but all generated more unanswered questions about how, when, and why map-based visualizations work well. This research reviews the current state of knowledge and adds to the limited empirical work on map-based energy displays in order to articulate best practices and support broader use of maps to visualize energy data. Two online experiments were conducted with over 830 participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk to assess and compare the usability of multiple versions of map-based energy displays and bar charts. Results were consistent with past research findings that map-based energy data visualizations are more interesting and enjoyable than more basic displays (bar charts). These findings support a general use case for map-based energy displays when trying to engage a broad audience, including those unfamiliar with energy data, by telling a richer story and elevating the data to be more than a set of metrics. Results also highlight the importance of interactivity for map-based energy displays; participants who used interactive features were more accurate in interpreting energy data than those who did not. Other best practices for map-based energy data visualizations are discussed, including considerations for single-variable heat maps, proportional symbol maps, and dual-encoded proportional symbol maps. 

Despite the significant amount of energy spent on Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) at universities, thermal comfort conditions in campus buildings are frequently poor. Conventional HVAC management systems at universities are typically out of the hands of building occupants and facilities management departments have limited resources to involve them. These factors can lead to over-heating or over-cooling and undiagnosed mechanical issues. Previous research has shown that thermal comfort feedback, or participatory thermal sensing, can simultaneously improve energy efficiency and occupant comfort in university buildings. However, these studies have been limited to single campus buildings and restricted populations of occupants. The success, scalability, and sustainability of any participatory thermal sensing program is dependent upon ongoing participation that is meaningful to occupants and useful to facilities management. Therefore, research is warranted to explore patterns of voluntary participation, thermal comfort, and occupant satisfaction in extended, campus-wide deployments of participatory thermal sensing programs. The present research begins to address these gaps in the context of an 18-month, campus-wide deployment of TherMOOstat, a participatory thermal sensing app and HVAC management system at University of California, Davis.

Vehicle electrification is an important strategy in moving toward a more sustainable transportation future. Replacing gasoline with electricity to power vehicles enables reduced dependence on fossil fuels and can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions when clean energy sources are used to produce electricity. Barriers to consumer adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) include relatively higher purchase prices and limitations in vehicle range and charging infrastructure. Much research has focused on these barriers. There has been relatively less focus on how to convey the benefits of PEVs to prospective buyers. Reduced energy costs can be a significant benefit for consumers who adopt PEVs. However, the complexity of comparing gasoline and electricity prices makes it difficult for consumers to quantify this benefit. Online vehicle energy cost calculators are one strategy to help consumers calculate potential savings and perhaps persuade them to adopt PEVs. For example, UC Davis ITS researchers developed an online tool called EV Explorer that enables users to compare personalized estimates of annual energy costs for multiple vehicles. In this research, UC Davis Consumer Energy Interfaces Lab evaluated EV Explorer through an online experiment. The study assessed 108 participants’ perceptions—before and after using the tool—of their current energy costs, potential savings with electric vehicles, attitude toward vehicle charging, and intention to buy or lease an electric vehicle in the future. This study is the first to examine the effectiveness of an online vehicle energy cost calculator in promoting PEV adoption.

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) is responsible for most of the energy consumed in many university buildings, which are still often uncomfortable for occupants. Previous research suggests crowdsourcing thermal comfort feedback from occupants, called participatory thermal sensing (PTS), and incorporating it into the HVAC control system can improve energy efficiency and comfort simultaneously. Most PTS research has focused on automated closed-loop systems whereby occupant feedback is automatically integrated into HVAC operations, but such systems are difficult to scale. PTS can also be implemented in a manual closed-loop system, whereby facilities management personnel analyze occupant feedback then make appropriate changes to HVAC operations. This approach may be easier to scale, but little is known regarding how to implement such a program. This paper describes lessons learned from a campus-wide manual closed-loop PTS program at University of California, Davis, after 23 months of implementation. We discuss the program in terms of three main goals: inspiring occupant participation, interpreting the data, and improving comfort and energy efficiency. Each goal requires a different set of skills and resources, which has resulted in an inter-sector and interdisciplinary project team comprised of facilities management staff and behavioral science and engineering researchers.

Energy dashboards are monitoring and display systems that provide information about building energy use. Dashboards may provide information, alarms, and complex trends to support engineers in identifying energy inefficiencies in a building. Public interfaces may contain simpler trends, with a greater focus on aesthetics and framing of content to promote interest and engagement. We have developed the Campus Energy Education Dashboard (CEED), a map-based dashboard that shows energy data for buildings on a large university campus. Analytic features, including energy use intensity metrics, real-time demand data, and historic data are available for our engineer and data analyst stakeholders. For students and staff, we focus on engagement features, such as providing context for the data, prioritizing aesthetics, and layering information in successive levels of detail. CEED enables Facilities Management to improve energy efficiency and empowers building occupants with knowledge of and input into campus energy operations. We will describe our design process, which included A/B and usability testing of design elements that informed successive iterations of the dashboard.  

Most HCI research related to electric vehicle adoption has focused on mitigating barriers related to vehicle range and charging infrastructure, while relatively less attention has been given to helping consumers recognize the bene­fits of electric vehicles. A significant benefit is reduced energy costs; however, the complexity of comparing gasoline and electricity prices makes it difficult for consumers to quantify. This paper describes and evaluates an online tool called EV Explorer that enables users to compare personalized estimates of annual energy costs for multiple vehicles. We assessed the tool through an online experi­ment, gauging users' perceptions-before and after using the tool-of their current energy costs, potential savings with electric vehicles, attitude toward electric vehicle charging, and intention to buy or lease an electric vehicle in the future. Statistically significant changes in each of these variables validate the tool as an educational and persuasive strategy to promote electric vehicle adoption.