Thinking-WATT
September 2011 – May 2012
Brief
To make individuals more aware of the energy they consume when there are at work.
Detail
The main reason behind Thinking-Watt was the idea that when people are at home, they are aware of the energy they use as they have to pay the bill. As a result people make effort not to consume too much energy by only using applicances when required and switching them off when unused. In contrast to this, when people are in places of work, employees aren’t made aware of personal usage so they don’t feel a responsibility to cut back.
Companies are now faced with greater responsbilities to monitor and control their environmental footprint. Thinking-Watt is designed to create an awareness of personal energy use in the workplace. Power to the desk relies on the user placing their phone in the device to act as a switch. Their energy usage is monitored throughout the day and alerts the user when they go over a specified limit through the use of flashing lights located on the front of the device.
At the end of the working day when the phone has been removed, the device will automatically cut power to the desk after thrity minutes. This stops equipment being left on when the user is not present. Each day a report is recorded on the company’s network showing the total energy used by each individual. This will allow companies to identify ways to save energy and lower costs.
