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INNER G

Home System

Atlanta, 2014-2016

Founder designer

Inner G is a project that gives people back visibility and control over their electricity use. Our energy use is opaque: the wires in our walls carry something we can’t see until we use it. There are also many misconceptions about the scale of energy use. People still think light bulbs matter, when leaving one on for two hours uses about as much energy as running a kettle for 55 seconds.

The project has two goals:

Help people understand their consumption
Create a more intuitive way to correct common mistakes

Awards : - Artscience Cambridge prize winner

- Artscience scholarship winner

- Future of energy, EDF, speaker

- EDF museum exhibition

What is InnerG?

Inner G is a project aimed at giving visibility and control back to the user on their electrical consumption. Our electrical needs are opaque. Some electrical wires in the wall carry something we cannot see unless we use it. There are also a lot of misunderstandings on the scales of energy expenditure. Consumers still think that light bulbs are important when letting a lightbulb on for 2 hours is as little as 55seconds as a modern TV.

2 axes on the project

- Help people understand their consumption

- Create a new way to correct the more intuitive mistake.

Part I : Realtime view

The philosophy

Do not force the change. The info must remain as passive as possible. Users don’t want to be judged. The choice of E-ink is low consumption, less aggressive and more discreet way to display information.

There are 3 modes of display giving layers of understanding and call to action to the end-user.

General 2D floor plan

A precise map of the room for the more complicated layouts requires registering the house map on a PC interface

Simplified 2D floor plan

2D simplified is the most popular mode. It displays a circular representation of spaces to focus on what is on.

Abstract representation

The mosaic mode is made to create a direct impression. If some part is in a more shaded grey it means a lot is going on. It is also more discreet when you have company.

We want to give a general idea of what works well and what doesn’t. There is an icon code dedicated to the types of devices and uses you may encounter.

Permanent fixtures : They are the objects that you don’t have much control over such as a fridge.

Punctual fixtures : They are devices that should only be on when needed, such as lights.

Programmed fixtures : They are devices with a timer that will go off on their own once the task is completed such as an oven

And the last category is anomalies.

Consumption anomalies

Anomalies are any device that should not be on based on previous behaviour

- A light on when no one is in the room

- A device that was programmed to automatically switch off, has been switched back on.

Part II : Active control

Once the anomaly is detected, there are two ways to correct the issue.

Direct click on the board or the watch on the issue that has been presented
Use the motion to put the energy where you need it. You can put the energy in your pocket, put the energy on another device or send it back to the board

The key for adoptation of a new technology

This concept of energy that you can touch, pocket, or send away was the success of this project. We did create the best way to visualize energy, but we made it more convenient and fun to have the right behaviour than not to do anything.

The tests that we’ve accomplished have shown that people would have used the system regardless of its sustainable aspect just because it felt like the future.

Part III : The hardware ecosystem