User-centred design of an audio feedback system for power demand management

Abstract

Low-income houses in South Africa are supplied with a pre-payment meter and a circuit breaker that trips at a low power level (about 20A, 4.5kW), resulting in many nuisance trips. Four categories of audio cues, each being able to represent five levels of power consumption, are assessed. A survey of 62 people was conducted. The numerical analysis of the results and the perceptions of the respondents both indicate that the use of changing tempo and texture is the most effective at conveying feedback information on the power consumption in the home. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.