This was a part of a systems and services design course in which we had to take a problem and tackle it with an intervention overnight. We were expected to develop a basic mockup of our intervention.
I focused on wastage of electricity and water as my problem and worked towards creating a solution that can be applied in households today.
I focused on wastage of electricity and water as my problem and worked towards creating a solution that can be applied in households today.
My intervention was a wireless data transmitting device partnered with a mobile app to make the user aware of his usage and giving him an overview of his house's electrical and water system.
Main focus points were to create a cheap device that can can be afforded by all and a simple application interface to translate everything into layman terms.
I found that DIY rigs that allow you to monitor your usage already exist but I decided to save the time I was going to spend figuring out the technical aspect of it to come up with new features.
Main focus points were to create a cheap device that can can be afforded by all and a simple application interface to translate everything into layman terms.
I found that DIY rigs that allow you to monitor your usage already exist but I decided to save the time I was going to spend figuring out the technical aspect of it to come up with new features.
The transmittor calculates most of the data using the fluctuations in the electric meter.
A few important features:
My devices: You can add all the electrical appliances that you have at home and as mentioned above, the app figures out which one is running based on the fluctuations in the meter reading.
Profiles: You can set a profile when your usage is supposed to be in between a spectrum and the app stores it as the difference in reading using the fluctuation in the meter. So, for example, when you're leaving from home and you activate the "Idle" profile, the app can quickly check the reading and ensure only the "Idle" appliances are consuming electricity and alert you incase the power load is more than what is expected with suggestions of what might be on.
Analysis: Using the above feature, the app can calculate the run time of your devices over a period of time and suggest appliance replacements that would save you money and electricity.
Alerts: The app lets you set alerts for power consumption just like you do for your internet packs on your mobile phones.
The app directly convers the usage into Rupees so that you know exactly how much you're using.
Another important feature is "Measure"
Say, you want to find out how much power you consume when you watch TV for half an hour. Hit the 'Measure' button on your app while switching on the TV and it starts reading your power usage till you hit the button again, after which it gives you the usage details for that time persiod.
Say, you want to find out how much power you consume when you watch TV for half an hour. Hit the 'Measure' button on your app while switching on the TV and it starts reading your power usage till you hit the button again, after which it gives you the usage details for that time persiod.
Water
The working of the water App is exactly the same except a few additional features that come with it.
Leak detectors: Using the profiles feature, the app can tell you if there is water consumption even when the "Idle" profile is on.
Measure: You can use the measure feature to see how many buckets of water you're using in your daily shower.
