Problem for the Common Good

Needed: Residential Electricity Measurement and Transmission Device

Outline:
We need you to design a system that will read the electricity consumption of a household, covert this to a digital signal, and send that data to a central database. Sound intriguing? We have ideas for the design, but maybe you’ll come up with something even better!

The Problem:
Goal: Develop an electronic device that will read the total electricity input into a typical residential, single-family house. The device should “read” the electricity main line-in (without altering that line), convert the signal from analog to digital (and condition it for wireless, if applicable), and send the data via WiFi or 1-Wire to a central database. The device should send the electricity usage in increments that are as small practical, ideally every second.

The device must be able to transfer data to a database. We plan to send this information back to the homeowner after modifying how the output is displayed. The information will be displayed to the user either on their home computer, or on a stand-alone commercial display such as the “chumby” (www.chumby.com).

The first phase of this project will design the device/system pictured in the dashed outlines in the two diagrams below. The 1-Wire design appears to be much easier to design, although ambitious designers may want to target the wireless device. The target price for the device, per house, is $200. Flexible and innovative designs are encouraged, and it is not necessary to follow the exact approach suggested although the functional capability must not be compromised.

The second phase of the job is to design the prototype. The winning designer of the device (first phase) will receive $1,500 pay, in addition to employment and expenses to build the prototype.

Criteria that must be met in order for the problem to be considered solved:
JUDGING CRITERIA : All Entries will be judged according to the following equally-weighted Judging Criteria.
A. DESIGN SOLUTION: Aesthetics as well as a sensitivity to form follows function. The design must be purposeful in its form factor and highly usable by the intended users.
B. INNOVATIVENESS: How profound is the idea and how innovative is the solution from a technology product design perspective?
C. COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY CONSIDERATIONS: How well did the design solution address each of the various Computing Technology Considerations listed above?
D. FEASIBILITY & CONCEPT VALIDATION: How realistic is it? Can it be manufactured in the near term or long term under manufacturing constraints? Did the entrant do a sufficient amount of investigation regarding what is possible from a functional and manufacturing perspective? Are the research sources cited, varied, and valid? Did the entrant provide proper citations and credit for research and intellectual property referenced?
E. DOCUMENTATION OF PROCESS & METHODOLOGY: How well has the entrant captured the process of creating the final design solution?
F. PRESENTATION: Has the entrant effectively presented the concept? Are entry materials neat and well-organized? Has the entrant made effective use of visualization tools? How well did the entrant communicate the ideas and solution using text and imagery? How well did the entrant make use of media to express ideas?

What will be done once a good solution has been found:
This device will be used to run energy efficiency experiments using consumer behavior principles. Many possibilities exist to implement demand management techniques, but one area has received little attention: the residential electricity sector. Past experiments fail to consider consumer behavior principles to determine the best approaches to residential sector management. For instance, several opportunities exist to study the impact of feedback types and formats, pricing strategies, and social networking. This research would inform policymakers of the most efficient way to develop and implement residential consumption management results.

Number of members working on this problem:
8

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Problem #134

Date posted: 2007-12-19