Making energy use visible
Smart meter in-home display –
usability research with consumers
About Consumer Focus
Consumer Focus is the statutory
consumer champion for England, Wales,
Scotland and (for postal consumers)
Northern Ireland.
We operate across the whole of the
economy, persuading businesses,
public services and policy-makers to put
consumers at the heart of what they do.
Consumer Focus tackles the issues
that matter to consumers, and aims to
give people a stronger voice. We don’t
just draw attention to problems – we
work with consumers and with a range
of organisations to champion creative
solutions that make a difference to
consumers’ lives.
Following the Government’s consumer
advocacy reforms, we will continue to
act in the consumer interest across a
wide range of sectors until our general
advocacy role passes to the Citizens
Advice service in April 2013.
As part of the reforms, Consumer Focus
will establish a new unit to identify
and represent consumers’ interests in
complex, regulated sectors, including
energy and postal issues and,
in Scotland, water.
Our Annual Plan for 2012/13 is available
online, consumerfocus.org.uk
For regular updates from Consumer Focus, sign up to our
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This report was researched and
co-authored by:
Ricability
(Research Institute for Consumer Affairs)
Tel: 020 7427 2460
www.ricability.org.uk
www.ricability-digitaltv.org.uk
Consumer Focus
Contents
Executive summary .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Introduction .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Context .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Policy framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Background to the research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Funding .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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What we did . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Research objectives .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
IHD selection .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Energy monitors and IHDs .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Consumer research .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Participant profiles .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
User trials .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Focus groups and interviews .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Findings and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hardware (physical characteristics) .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
On-screen information .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ambient feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Audible alarms and text to speech .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Aesthetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Instructions and terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Potential next steps .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Annex 1 Excluded IHDs .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Annex 2 Example task sheet .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Task 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Task 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Task 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Task 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Task 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Task 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Annex 3 Tasks completed by IHD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Annex 4 IHD difficulties .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Annex 5 GB population aged over 16 with an impairment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Making energy use visible
Executive summary
The Government has proposed that all homes in
Great Britain have smart meters installed by 2019.
Alongside their smart meter every customer will be
provided with an In-home Display (IHD) capable
of displaying near real-time information on their
energy consumption.
Consumer Focus has been working to ensure
that IHDs are designed in a way that provides the
greatest benefit to the largest possible amount
of consumers. It is important that all consumers,
including those that are older or have a disability,
receive an IHD which they find easy to use.
According to the Government’s Life Opportunity
Survey1 (LoS) almost one third of adults in GB
have some kind of impairment. As the population
continues to increase and age the number
of people with a disability is also expected to
increase. Today in the UK:
●● 2 million people have some form of sight loss2
●● 10 million people have arthritis, the most
common cause of a manual dexterity
impairment3
●● 10 million people have some form of hearing
loss4
Features that make products usable for people
with disabilities can often make them easier to
use for everyone. This is particularly helpful when
people have to cope with short term impairments.
Life Opportunities Survey - Interim Wave One Results, 2010
Statistical Bulletin. http://bit.ly/K4n7mh
2
http://bit.ly/P6Xdk7
3
http://bit.ly/MSlAmR
4
http://bit.ly/RMzw2k
This research was designed to understand the
extent to which IHDs are usable. It entailed user
testing a range of IHDs with a diverse group of
consumers, including older and disabled people.
The aim was to:
●● Test the usability of existing displays and
establish which features worked best for the
widest range of consumers and which were
more problematic
●● Develop usability Good Practice Guidance for
industry to help create inclusively designed5
and easy to use IHDs
●● Develop a consumer usability guidance
document to help them select an easy to use
IHD, or similar device
The research concluded that all IHDs tested
had both good and bad design elements. Some
design elements left users unable to use the IHD
altogether, particularly those with poor sight or a
severe dexterity impairment. This was often due to
quite fundamental ergonomic requirements such
as colour contrast and button size.
Such design fundamentals are required to access
almost any information on the screen. Some
improvements can be implemented without
significant cost implications.
1
4
‘Inclusivity by design’ is a design approach devised to
ensure products and services address the needs of as
many people as possible, irrespective of age or ability
5
Consumer Focus
Encouragingly, no single design element was
poor across all of the IHDs. There were clear
examples of good practice in all areas, a
reminder that the manufacturers and suppliers
of IHDs poorly performing in certain areas, can
do more to better meet the accessibility and
usability needs of their customers.
Good practice guidance has been created to
support IHD design inclusivity, it includes specific
features and characteristics that should, as a
minimum, be considered under a range of the
following categories:
●● IHD handling and positioning
●● Power (use of mains adapters and batteries)
●● Buttons (touch screen and physical)
●● Feedback and response
●● Button labels (text and icons)
●● IHD screen information
●● Audible alarms
●● Text to speech
The Guidance is available as a separate document
at: http://bit.ly/QyyDbS
A summary of how the different displays
performed is in Annex 4. See also The ‘Consumer
Guide to Choosing an IHD’
Making energy use visible
5
Introduction
Context
Policy framework
The Government intends that all homes will have
smart meters installed by 2019. Smart meters are
the next generation of gas and electricity meters
with a range of additional functions.
Government has outlined minimum standards
for compliant IHDs.7 These include the ability to
display the following information:
As part of the roll-out, all residential households
will be offered an In-home display (IHD) at no
additional cost, capable of displaying near realtime data on their energy consumption, as well
as other information. It is hoped that IHDs will
enable consumers to better manage their energy
consumption and reduce their gas and electricity
use. The usability of IHDs has been recognised
as an important factor in their effectiveness as
a tool to help customers both in the short and
longer term. Poorly designed IHDs could result in
customers not using their IHD, and therefore not
seeing the full benefits of this technology.
Consumer Focus believes that IHDs should be
designed with the user at the very forefront of
research and development. Designing inclusively
with a strong emphasis on users with more
challenging or specific needs, such as older and
disabled people could help ensure the standard
‘free’ IHD that suppliers offer to consumers is
more usable for a larger population. Getting
things right first time could save suppliers and
manufacturers money in the longer term. Costs
can be better controlled and inclusivity and
usability considerably enhanced.6
●● Cumulative consumption (ie how much you
have used so far in the current day/week/
month)
●● Historical consumption (ie how much energy
you used yesterday, last week, last month, and
in the last 12 month period)
●● Whether your electricity consumption at a
given time is high, medium or low
●● All information on energy consumption to be
shown in pounds and pence, as well as kWh
●● For prepayment customers, IHDs should show
additional information on: the meter balance;
emergency credit balance; debt recovery rate;
and have the ability to give a low credit alert
The minimum standards state that IHDs should be
designed to: ‘…enable the information to be easily
accessed and presented in a form that is clear
and easy to understand including by consumers
with impaired:
●● Sight
●● Memory and learning ability
●● Perception and attention; or
●● Dexterity’8
Government has also specifically referenced the
good practice guidelines on inclusive IHD design
produced by Consumer Focus and Ricability, and
stated that they will ‘…assist suppliers in meeting
the requirements of the SMETS.’9
SMIP Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specifications,
April 2012, page 43
8
SMIP Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specifications,
April 2012
9
SMIP: Government response to the consultation on draft
licence conditions and technical specifications for the roll-out
of gas and electricity smart metering equipment. Page 67
7
Getting to Grips with Smart Displays – research review,
Consumer Focus, November 2011: http://bit.ly/QenOtt
6
6
Consumer Focus
Background to the research
As part of our engagement with the Smart Meter
Programme, Consumer Focus, has been working
to ensure that all consumers are able to have an
IHD that meets their needs and is easy to use.
According to the Government’s Life Opportunity
Survey10 (LoS) almost one third of adults (over 16)
in Great Britain have some kind of impairment,
such as a dexterity problem or sight issue, that
could affect how easily they find it to engage with
technology (see Annex 5 for a breakdown).
To help advance work in this area and inform
decisions on the design of IHDs Consumer
Focus commissioned Ricability, an independent
consumer research organisation specialising in
usability, to carry out:
1 A literature review11 to determine what work
to date had been carried on IHD usability,
and in other related sectors where ergonomic
principles were relevant
2 An expert appraisal12 of a range of IHDs
and energy monitors to give insight into the
accessibility and usability of the devices,
examining both the good and bad design
elements found to affect them
The literature review identified a lack of research
in the area of IHD usability. However, available
information showed:
●● Many people value simplicity in everyday
technological devices from TVs to mobile
phones and have a preference for intuitive,
easy to use products
●● There are a range of benefits when following
inclusive design principles
»» Greater efficiency and more user trust
– therefore higher overall customer
satisfaction
»» Less learning time for customers
»» Lower error rates (mistakes by the user)
»» Lower contact levels with training and
support services
»» Fewer returns and complaints
The expert appraisal concluded that all the
devices tested featured both good and bad
ergonomic features and characteristics, but that
the displays were often only as accessible as their
weakest attribute.
While suppliers will be able to offer a range of
displays to customers, it is currently unclear how
much choice customers will get of ‘free displays’
that do not require them to pay an additional
amount. As such it is vital that the ‘free’ IHDs
provided by all suppliers are fit for purpose and
can be used by as many consumers as possible.
In light of this gap in IHD usability information, and
following the findings of the usability testing, we
commissioned Ricability to conduct qualitative
research into the needs of the consumer,
particularly older or disabled people, whose
requirements are often the most challenging.
Life Opportunities Survey - Interim Wave One Results, 2010
Statistical Bulletin
11
http://bit.ly/QenOtt
12
http://bit.ly/SMBoHN
10
Making energy use visible
7
Funding
The aim was to further understand customers’
needs with regards to usability of displays and to
build on previous research to develop:
●● A good practice guide to support industry in
the design and provision of truly inclusive and
intuitive IHDs for the consumer. The guidance
has also been verified by some of the leading
usability professionals in the UK
This independent research was commissioned
by Consumer Focus, with thanks to British Gas,
E.ON and the Energy Retail Association (now
Energy UK) for providing partial funding to support
the project.
●● A Consumer Guide to Choosing an IHD, to
provide advice on usability when selecting an
IHDs
There is also a video available of consumer’s
feedback on IHDs.
This report documents the methodology and
findings of qualitative research with a selection of
IHDs, the detailed insights from a series of focus
groups and interviews with people with no useful
sight. The industry and consumer guidance are
available as separate documents.13
Consumer Focus would like to thank the
manufacturers and suppliers that provided
displays for this research, many of which were
prototypes with demo information made available
especially for this work.
The guidance and consumer guide are available here:
http://bit.ly/QyyDbS
13
8
Consumer Focus
What we did
Research objectives
IHD selection
1 Identify the ergonomic features and
characteristics that affect ease of use of IHDs
for a wide range of users, with a particular
focus on older and disabled people eg people
with reduced manual dexterity, and poor sight
The usability assessment consisted of six
prototype IHDs, selected by Ricability in
consultation with Consumer Focus.
2 Understand why specific features and
characteristics are important for consumers
and what makes them easy or difficult to use
from an accessibility and usability viewpoint
Energy monitors and IHDs
Energy monitor – An electricity monitor
(also known as a clip-on display) provides
up to date information on your electricity
consumption but not your gas use. They can
be used with standard (old-style) meters.
Electricity monitors don’t need to be fitted by
a professional. They consist of a small device
that you attach to the wire near your electricity
meter, and a display that you put in your
home. It relies on you putting in accurate tariff
information and setting it all up yourself. These
are widely available to buy in electrical stores
and online, some energy suppliers also offer
them to customers and some local authorities
lend them out through libraries.
IHD – Provides information on both gas and/or
electricity consumption and more detailed and
accurate data on your energy use than a clipon display. The IHD will show you how much
electricity and/or gas you are using at any one
time. It will also give you some information
about how you used electricity and gas in the
past. This information will be given in pounds
and pence (as well as kilowatt hours). The
display will meet minimum standards which
have been set by Government.
Following market research and contact with
manufacturers a total of 16 energy monitors
and IHDs were provided by manufacturers and
energy suppliers for potential use in the usability
assessment. Throughout the remainder of the
report these devices will be referred to as IHDs for
the sake of clarity.
The IHDs provided were prototypes with
demonstration data built in14 so that they could
be used without the need to install a full smart
meter. At the time of tests only one of the
prototype devices fully met the current smart meter
functional requirements (which had not yet been
confirmed at the time of testing). In some instances
this was because the devices did not provide
a full complement of ‘dummy’ data, so some
functionality was not available to use in the trials.
Six products were selected, as this was the
maximum number of displays that could be
assessed in sufficient detail within the available
time. These were selected on the basis of
their ergonomic features. Between them they
encompassed a wide range of design attributes
which were considered both potentially easy and
difficult to use for people with a different needs.
The devices were also connected to a range of devices in
the weeks before the research took place to ensure that
they had energy consumption data stored on them
14
Making energy use visible
9
It was clear that some products were aimed at
a more tech-savvy market, and that some may
cost considerably more than others. It is unclear,
which will be made available to customers at
no additional cost;15 however, no device was
excluded for these reasons, as:
3 the research aimed to understand which
key design attributes support ease of use,
regardless of cost and market segmentation
4 relatively cheap design attributes that support
ease of use may be found on expensive
products
5 all consumers can benefit from good design
principles, not just those with impairments
The products included and excluded
from the usability expert assessments
Included products (as seen in image 1 – from
left to right)
The following products were selected for their
range in design attributes only.
●● Smart Energy Monitor (supplied by British Gas,
manufactured by Landis & Gyr)
●● Efergy Elite (supplied by Efergy, manufactured
by Efergy)
●● Chameleon (supplied by Chameleon,
manufactured by Chameleon)
●● Ewgeco (supplied by Ewgeco, manufactured
by Ewgeco)
●● Ecometer (supplied by E.ON, manufactured by
Landis & Gyr)
●● Navetas (supplied by Navetas, manufactured
by Navetas)
Excluded products
Products that were too similar to other designs
were excluded to ensure that a varied range of
features were tested.
●● Intercel – Totem
●● Current Cost - Trec
●● Efergy e2
●● Geo – Solo
●● Onzo
●● Owl
Images of some of the excluded products can be
seen in Annex 1.
Minimum specification IHD capital cost used in the DECC
Impact Assessment was £15. (DECC/Ofgem Impact
Assessment, Smart meter rollout for the domestic sector
(GB), 30/03/2011 (page 24)
15
10
Consumer Focus
Below are images of the six IHDs/energy monitors
selected for the usability expert assessment.
Measurements included indicate maximum height
and width of the each display, accurate to ± 5mm.
(Images not to scale).
Image 1 Selected IHDs
From left: Navetas (h175 x w155mm); Ecometer (h165 x w105mm); Chameleon (h100 x w125mm)
From left: Smart Energy Monitor (h85 x w145mm); Ewgeco (h120 x w100mm); Efergy Elite (h80 x w105mm)
Making energy use visible
11
Consumer research
Participant profiles
User trials
To ensure the research16 encompassed a diverse
range of users, Ricability recruited 24 individuals
with a range of abilities/disabilities. People with
disabilities are often the most challenging users
to design for. Someone with poor dexterity
has very different needs to someone with poor
sight, and both have more complex accessibility
and usability needs than someone who has
no disability or impairment. Therefore, it was
considered important to see how the IHDs fared
when used by a range of disabled and nondisabled users.
Each person completed a series of ‘every day’
scenarios with the IHDs. Picture and word
based step-by-step instructions were provided
if required, but participants were encouraged to
attempt the exercises without them, if confident.
Scenarios were selected to give individuals the
opportunity to experience the widest range of
IHD features currently available in the functional
specification, a range of controls and a range
of screen interfaces. Before completing the
scenarios, participants were given an opportunity
to extensively explore the devices with the help of
some basic paper instructions.
The recruitment breakdown is shown below. (NB
some people had multiple disabilities and fitted
in more than one category, however, in this case
each individual is only counted once.)
●● Four people with a visual impairment
●● Two people with no useful sight
●● Six people with dexterity impairments or similar
(eg arthritis)
●● Six people over 70 years
●● Three people without disabilities, 18-39 years
●● Three people with disabilities, 40-69 years
●● in their technical knowledge eg from people
with the latest smart phones, tablets, internet
TVs etc, to people who use none of these
technologies
●● in familiarity with IHDs/energy monitors
●● of numeracy and literacy levels
User trials, focus groups and interviews took place in March
2012
17
22 participants took part in user trials and focus groups (11
male, 11 female). Another two experienced all the products
and were interviewed one to one. These two had no useful
sight so were unable to complete the same set of scenarios
(1 male, 1 female)
12
●● How much electricity has been used so far
today, in £s?
●● How much electricity has been used so far
today, in kWh?
●● What are the electricity and gas tariffs?
●● Explore how much electricity was used last
month in £s and kWh?
●● Check the indicative account balance
●● What is the projected electricity bill this month?
Within the 24 participants17 (12 males, 12 females)
selected there were variations:
16
Scenarios completed*
* Not all of the tasks could be performed on
all of the devices a) due to limited demo
data available on some prototypes and/
or b) the information is not intended to be
displayed. Not all devices displayed gas
information hence a bias towards electricity
scenarios, but not solely electricity. You
can see an example of a scenario sheet
in Annex 2. You can also see which tasks
were completed for which IHD in Annex 3.
Consumer Focus
Focus groups and interviews
After the completion of each scenario
participants were asked to record their answers
to the scenarios and give an indication of how
confident they were in performing the task.
Detailed questions on what made the device
easy and/or difficult to use were completed after
the six scenarios.
Each person completed scenarios with all six of
the devices in a randomised order to minimise
any effect the order had on opinion. During the
trials supervisors were present to take notes
regarding usability and to lend a hand when
participants required.
Image 2 User completing set scenarios during
the trials
Two facilitated focus groups were held after
the trials with the same participants to provide
detailed feedback. Participants were also given
opportunities to discuss the wider issues of smart
metering and reducing energy consumption.
Discussions included, but were not limited to:
●● IHD usability and key requirements
●● Positioning in the home
●● Instructions
●● Aesthetics
One to one interviews were held with individuals
with no useful sight to better understand their
particular requirements and to determine just how
useful and usable the current IHDs would be. It
should be noted that they did not complete the
full scenario assessments, nor the usability based
questionnaires, but did handle each device and
gave feedback on the various designs.
Image 3 Focus group in session
Making energy use visible
13
Findings and discussion
Hardware (physical characteristics)
In this report product examples are given
to illustrate specific points. It should be
stressed that these are examples only and
are not a reflection on the product as a
whole. It should be noted that the IHDs used
are prototypes running with demonstration
data, with the exception of the Efergy Elite
which is an off-the-shelf energy monitor.
The Chameleon and Ewgeco were the only
IHDs to provide a mains lead and batteries. The
Chameleon used a built-in rechargeable battery,
Ewgeco used off the shelf rechargeable batteries.
The Efergy Elite came with batteries only (a
mains adapter could be bought separately). The
Navetas, Smart Energy Monitor and the Ecometer
were solely mains powered.
Freestanding / wall mounting
Positioning
During the focus groups people said that they
would like to position the IHD where they were
most likely to see it often. For most people this
meant in the kitchen or the hallway. A short mains
lead would limit the exact position, but this was
not considered a concern by the majority of
participants. It was also mentioned that a sensible
place to position the display would be with the
heating controls and/or thermostat, but only if it
was easily accessible. Some users mentioned
that their central heating controls are in difficult
to access locations like cupboards and as such
placing an IHD near them would not be practical.
During discussions there appeared to be a slight
difference of opinion between those keen to be
able to continuously monitor energy consumption
and those that thought that they would glance at
the display only now and again. This difference
stemmed from their perception of the IHD’s
usefulness, Alex; 26 said, ‘you kind of know
what to do to save energy’. Users that were
keen felt that to have the biggest influence on
reducing energy consumption the IHD should be
easily portable ‘to make it more usable, take
it with you’ (Graham; 72), the device would
therefore require battery power in addition to a
mains lead.
14
Two of the partially sighted users felt strongly that
the device should be wall mountable, ‘I knock
things and if it is on a shelf or something,
when I am cleaning I will worry about
knocking it’ (Padma; 72, with poor sight). All,
except the Chameleon, were capable of being
wall mounted or standing freely. Questions about
the build quality of the devices generally were
then raised; however no durability tests were
performed in this research. Most users preferred
the idea of having a freestanding device, but
wanted it to be comfortable to hold when using it.
It should be noted that the IHDs were tested from
a seated position, devices stood freely on the
table with users picking them up if desired. Almost
all users preferred to pick them up, to bring them
to an optimum viewing position and angle.
Handling
The majority of users found all the devices easy
to hold, however four individuals with poor
dexterity found the Chameleon difficult or very
difficult to hold and use comfortably. One 63 year
old with severe arthritis was unable to complete
the scenarios because of the discomfort she
experienced. A significant contributing factor to
this was the awkwardly placed buttons on the
back of the unit (for further detail on awkwardly
positioned buttons see page 17).
Consumer Focus
The user would have preferred to place the
device flat on the table so she was not committed
to holding it continuously but with buttons on
the back this was not an option. However, only
Navetas, Ecometer and Ewgeco were observed to
be easy to use in this way. Four people, three with
poor dexterity, also found the Ewgeco difficult to
hold and use, primarily due to the small buttons.
The Ecometer was the only device with no
handling complaints.
Image 4 Freestanding / wall mounting
Buttons
This section looks at the lessons learnt from the
research around what makes buttons easier to use.
Touch screen and push buttons
The Chameleon was not wall mountable due to
the rear buttons and mains cable socket
Image 5 Handling
For buttons to be easy to use and give the
user confidence that they have completed
the necessary action, any button whether a
touch screen or push button, must have a
number of well-designed characteristics. These
characteristics were identified in Ricability and
Consumer Focus’s 2011 usability research18 as
size, spacing, force to push them, positioning,
feedback (confirmation a button has been
pressed) and labelling, and were used in the trial
to help users make judgements about the buttons
on the six IHDs.
A number of users, especially those with eyesight
problems or no useful sight felt that to gain any
benefit from a touch screen they would require
text to speech software as a minimum to help
them navigate the display. The Navetas and
Ecometer in particular stood out as providing
easy to use buttons with no weak button
characteristics mentioned.
Consumer Focus, Getting to grips with smart displays.
An expert appraisal of the usability of in-home displays,
August 2011
18
Ewgeco with usable flat back
Making energy use visible
15
Button size and spacing
Image 6 Buttons
Size was one of the fundamental characteristics
that make using buttons easy or difficult.
The Efergy Elite (left) has a small recessed
button. The Ecometer (right) had large easy to
press buttons
Image 7 Difficult buttons
British Gas Smart Energy Monitor with difficult
touch buttons in the top left corner
Buttons which were small were particularly
difficult to press when in very close proximity to
other buttons. These relied on the user having
excellent eye-hand co-ordination, a steady hand
and small enough fingers to press down without
pressing any surrounding buttons. Users of all
ages and abilities were observed to struggle as a
result of the small buttons on the Smart Energy
Monitor and the Ewgeco. One user with what
they described as larger fingers said, of some of
the Smart Energy Monitor’s buttons, ‘I couldn’t
readily press them, so I had to use a pen…I
found them very fiddly’ (John; 50). Another user
complained ‘I pressed two at the same time’
(Eric; 67) when using the Ewgeco.
The remainder of the IHDs had buttons large
enough to comfortably press without accidentally
pressing an adjacent button. The Ecometer’s
buttons received particular praise from the users.
While they were not positioned very far apart, this
was not considered a problem due to the large
size which allowed them to be pressed with ease
and comfort, and as they did not rely on the same
high degree of eye hand co-ordination that other
IHDs did; there was some room for error.
Image 8 Hard to read buttons
Ewgeco's buttons were the same colour as the
background
16
Not all the buttons on all IHDs were used during
the trials. The most notable buttons not used
were those on the back of the Efergy Elite, which
are very small and recessed. These buttons are
not designed to be used regularly as they are for
tasks such as adjusting the time settings and as
such no user feedback was generated on these
buttons during the exercises.
Consumer Focus
Button response and feedback
Force required to press button
Instant positive feedback (confirmation that you
have pressed a button, eg a click) was considered
very important by users in the focus groups.
This was even more important when there was
a delay between pressing a button and the IHD
completing the action.
Users found the force required to press the
buttons (touch screen or push buttons) generally
OK. The Smart Energy Monitor was scored badly
by users as the pressing force was considered
too great for three users and far too great for five
users. However, the observations made during
the user trials indicate that the button force was
broadly acceptable, but the slow response and
lack of feedback caused users to infer that the
Smart Energy Monitor’s touch screen required
greater pressure than was actually necessary,
‘I wasn’t sure if it had worked’ (Ian; 69; poor
sight). The IHD frequently failed to recognise
a touch of the screen when he had touched it
with the pad of his finger. It responded best to a
tap with a finger nail or a pen. This was neither
intuitive nor easy to use for this customer group.
Users in the trials were observed to press buttons
on the Smart Energy Monitor repeatedly as it did
not provide any indication the button had been
pressed. This confused many users and frustrated
and irritated others. It is thought that the IHD did
in fact recognise each touch, but it took time to
react and display the information selected. The
final information displayed was not what was
expected or wanted, ‘Sometimes I felt I was
pressing it and nothing was happening…and
the reaction time seemed really really slow,
but not even consistent’ (Alex; 26). This delay
inconsistency also affected the usability but was
only recognised by younger participants, older
participants generally felt the error was their fault.
Users valued feedback such as a visual change
of state, haptic feedback (a feeling that the button
had been pressed) or an audible notification, eg a
beep. A beep or haptic feedback was important
for users with poor sight. One user said of the
Navetas, ‘I’m hearing the change more than
seeing it’ (Veronica; 56; no useful sight). This
functionality was considered a very important
usability requirement. The beep was particularly
important on the Navetas as it had a touch screen
interface and did not provide any haptic response.
The Chameleon was the only other IHD to offer
audible feedback like this.
Users considered the Ecometer to provide the
best haptic feedback, users felt the ‘click’ and it
was loud enough to hear.
Awkward positioning
The position of the buttons alone did not affect
the usability of the IHD – but their position in
association with other IHD design features, for
example the position of the screen, did. It was
this that was of particular irritation and discomfort
for users when using the Chameleon. Some of
the buttons were positioned on the reverse of the
display, this required users to continually turn over
the IHD to use it. One user said, ‘At my stage
in life I wouldn’t remember which was here,
which was there?’ (Joan; 69). Another user said
‘I just know I wouldn’t be bothering with it,
because of the pain of having to pick it up and
turn it round and get used to it!’ (Margaret; 57).
This caused greatest difficulty for users with poor
dexterity, almost all these users (five) found using
the device very difficult and/or caused discomfort.
Altogether 10 users found the buttons very difficult
to use because of their position.
Making energy use visible
17
Some users were observed to struggle due to
some of the buttons’ positions on the Smart
Energy Monitor. The buttons were very small and
positioned in the corner of the screen which made
accessing them difficult due to the protruding
screen surround. The Ewgeco also scored poorly
due to the close proximity of other buttons (see
button size and spacing).
Button detection
Buttons need to stand out from the background
to be easily detected. Most users did not
consider this to be an issue with the IHDs being
trialled, but people with poor sight struggled to
detect some buttons when there was a lack of
colour contrast. This meant they were reliant on
touch alone to detect and navigate around the
controls. The Ewgeco, was criticised by people
with poor sight as the buttons were the same
colour as the background and more importantly
for detection purposes, the contrast was the
same. The buttons were described as ‘nearly
invisible’ (Veronica; 56; no useful sight). While the
Chameleon also failed to provide colour contrast
between the buttons and the background, the large
well-spaced buttons meant they were far easier to
detect by touch than those on the Ewgeco.
The Efergy Elite buttons provided excellent
colour contrast between the buttons and the
background. This made them exceptionally easy
to locate for people, including people with very
poor sight.
Button labels
A number of combining factors affect how useful
button labels are to the user. But the most
fundamental element is how intuitive button icons,
symbols or characters are to understand.
Does the button actually do what the label
suggests? Some labels were unanimously
considered unintuitive. The Ewgeco’s button
labels were described as ‘not self-explanatory’
(50 year old male), many people agreed with this.
Some users felt they may learn what some of the
buttons did over time, but this would not help
during the learning process.
Some buttons, like those found on the Efergy
Elite, had dual functionality, so the button function
changed dependent on what was displayed on the
screen at that given moment. This meant fewer
buttons were required on the IHD, but it also made
it more confusing as users had to understand
which label was applicable at that time.
Image 9 Button detection
Image 10 Unintuitive buttons
Efergy Elite had excellent colour contrast
between the buttons and the background
Ewgeco’s button labels were unintuitive
18
Consumer Focus
Image 11 Button labelling
Image 12 Difficult labels
Ewgeco (top) had small labels poorly contrasting
with the background, Chameleon’s (bottom) had
primarily large and clear labels (eg in red circle),
but some very small labels (eg in orange square)
The Ecometer’s labels varied in legibility due to
line thickness
There is therefore a trade-off between the
number of buttons and the number of functions
per button. This trade-off is not applicable on
touch screen displays, such as the Smart Energy
Monitor where the on-screen ‘button’ can change
along with the screen, making its function more
apparent, providing a distinct usability advantage
in this regard. Touch screen buttons can be
positioned anywhere and can display anything they
want at any given time, if programmed to do so.
People with good eyesight did not find any of
these a problem. However, people with poor
sight were more reliant on clear labels, with tactile
labels19 mentioned as an additional characteristic
that would further help them use the buttons, one
user said it was important so you can use it ‘just
by feeling it’ (69 year old male with poor sight).
The remaining elements affecting the usability of
a label are related to being able to see it (or feel
it) sufficiently. Poor colour contrast, text/icon size,
the type of font (if used) and the thickness of the
lines are all individually important to ensure an
easy to read label.
The Efergy Elite, Smart Energy Monitor and
Ewgeco all had small icons with poor colour
contrast between the label and the background.
One user said: ‘If they are very small, I
wouldn’t notice them’ (Padma; 72; poor sight).
‘Tactile labels’ are labels that provide a physical indicator
of what the button does or where it is, such as the small
bumps often added to the ‘5’ button on keypads to help
users orient where they are on the pad by feel
19
Making energy use visible
19
On-screen information
Some of the Chameleon’s button labels were
highly praised for their size and contrast by people
with poor sight, but other labels on the IHD were
very small (see image 11). Although the small
labels gave detailed information they were simply
unreadable for some.
Thin lines, whether used as part of an icon,
symbol or text do not stand out as well as bold
lines when viewed from a comfortable reading
distance. The Ecometer, while it had fewest
complaints of narrow line thickness affecting label
usability, actually illustrates both excellent and
poor use of line thicknesses. This inconsistency
made the labels inaccessible to two individuals
who relied on use of a magnifier to read them,
as not all the labels were easy to read. During
discussions one user with poor sight could see
the boldly printed pound sign clearly and knew
there was something on the buttons below,
but: ‘it was not bold enough for me to see’
(Padma; 72; poor sight).
Character size and colour contrast
The size of characters and the colour contrast
between them and the background were the
single most important characteristics that affected
how easy to read the IHDs were.
Character size varied greatly between IHDs and
on the same IHD. One user said: ‘You need
to see what a value relates to. It’s no good
having kW in tiny letters if you’ve got the
value in large letters’ (Ian; 69; poor sight).
However, all users realised that it would not
be possible to provide characters of the same
size for all the information displayed, and in fact
this would not be desirable. But it is important
for all characters to be large enough to see,
one user with poor sight said, ‘I see why not
all numbers cannot be of one size, but the
small numbers – I wouldn’t notice them’
(Padma; 72; poor sight).
The Navetas display used consistently large
characters; however the screen was much larger
than all others tested. Ian; 72 with poor sight
had to use a magnifier when text was small, she
said, ‘I shouldn’t have to use my magnifier
every time, because I may not have it handy’.
The Chameleon, Ecometer and the Efergy
Elite all used very small characters in places,
approximately 2mm. However, the excellent colour
contrast on the Chameleon made reading the
text much easier. The Smart Energy Monitor was
also considered to have characters that were too
small for some (approximately 3mm), four users
considered them very difficult to read because of
their size.
Small characters together with poor colour contrast
made the Smart Energy Monitor completely
unusable for some users with poor sight.
20
Consumer Focus
One user said, ‘I would refuse to have it….
there is no contrast, it’s a really poor screen’
(Veronica; 56; poor sight). Many other people
were also observed to have trouble reading the
screen. During discussions users spoke about
tilting the screen to the right angle to be able to
see the information more clearly.
Image 13 Character size and contrast
Good contrast was important across all the
information displayed on the screen not just text
and numbers; recognition of icons, graphs and
even lines were all affected when colour contrast
was poor. The Chameleon was singled out by
many people for good contrast; Margaret (2); 66
said it was ‘terrific’.
Where icons and symbols are used, these need to
be large and clear following the same principles as
any text.
Some on screen text was very small (Ecometer
– top, Chameleon – bottom)
The Navetas used icons extensively, most gave
information on individual appliances and were
not directly assessed in the research, but users
did comment on their apparent intuitiveness and
clarity. Most other IHDs featured few icons, the
most common were icons to indicate whether
the information displayed related to electricity or
gas. While the icons were generally considered
intuitive among those that could see them, some
icons were simply too small. The icons on the
Chameleon were considered very clear and easily
identifiable, even by some people with very poor
sight, and particularly clear in comparison with
the Ecometer. People with poor sight in particular
struggled to see it due to its size and thin lines,
‘it’s terribly faint’ (Anne; 63).
The majority of icons were considered intuitive, but
there were a few that were found to be confusing
eg the CO2 emissions icon on the Ecometer.
Making energy use visible
21
Font
Image 14 Poor contrast
The font type made a considerable difference to
people with poor sight. A number of the displays
were not capable of displaying a recognised
font due to screen limitations. The Navetas had
characters made up of horizontal and vertical
lines. One user said, ‘good grief, for all I know
it could be in Russian’ (Veronica; 56; poor sight).
The Ewgeco used a series of dots, one user said,
‘It shouldn’t have those dotted numbers…
because that is difficult to make out, it’s very
easy to confuse a nine with a zero’. (Padma;
72; poor sight).
The British Gas Smart Energy Monitor was
difficult to read with small text and poor colour
contrast
Image 15 Example icons
It became clear during discussions that the
decimal point was easily lost when the numbers
are made up of dots, particularly when it appears
to be below the numbers, one user said ‘It was
hard to tell where the decimal point was’
(Gemma; 24). This resulted in a high level of
incorrect readings being recorded by users during
the scenario based exercises.
Cycling information
Ecometer (left) electricity icon, Chameleon (right)
electricity icon
Image 16 Unintuitive icons
Ecometer button label considered unintuitive by
some
22
The benefit of cycling information (information
that was displayed before displaying a different
piece of information, and then another piece
of information on a loop) was considered to be
mixed among the users. Most felt it was not
necessary; they would want the most relevant
information constantly displayed and not have
to wait for a set period for it to cycle through
again. If they wanted other information they would
proactively seek it out using the controls. One
user said, ‘It would irritate me’, (Sarah; 32),
another user said, ‘didn’t like that, moving on
before having the chance to assimilate the
information’ (John; 78). It was also felt that there
was potential for misinterpretation eg between kW
and pence per hour on the Ecometer, particularly
as the numbers were large but the units were small.
Consumer Focus
However, other users quite liked the idea that they
could glance up and it would provide different
information.
Image 17 Hard to read font
Information ‘timing out’
Navetas text consists of vertical and horizontal
lines
Image 18 Dotted font
Many of the IHDs displayed information for a
defined period of time (after navigating to the
information). The Ecometer timed out and reverted
back to the default screen after 30 seconds, the
Efergy Elite after 20 seconds and the Chameleon
after 15 seconds (it should be noted that the
Chameleon only does this when displaying
information that a user may consider to be
‘sensitive’ such as account balance information).
Opinion on the usefulness of this feature varied
with some people getting frustrated that the
information disappeared too soon. One user said,
‘You’re ready to write it down and it’s gone…I
would like it to stay there until I’ve finished
with it’ (Sarah; 32).
Users that considered these ‘time out’ periods to
be too short felt that there should be another way
to ‘go back to square one’ (Graham; 72). Such
a button (a ‘home’ button), as found on the Smart
Energy Monitor was considered to be logical and
less irritating than a time out feature. However,
users did feel that a time out feature would
probably be required, but set at several minutes.
Scrolling text
Ewgeco characters made up of dots. Decimal
point easily lost
The only IHD to use scrolling text (text that
moves across the screen) was Navetas. The trial
scenarios did not directly require people to use
this information, but during discussions users felt
that the information displayed in this way was
difficult to read, made worse by the jerky nature
of the scrolling text.
Making energy use visible
23
Ambient feedback
However, it should be noted that the information
displayed by the Navetas display in scrolling text
could be found elsewhere on the screen, at the
same time eg it described the highlighted icon. It
should also be noted that the Navetas displays
appliance specific energy information, which is
more than a standard IHD would provide.
Ghosting
Reading even the biggest numbers of the Efergy
Elite was impossible for one user due the ghosting
effect (shadow behind screen characters) that
the screen creates at some angles ‘Horrible
shadow, it makes reading very difficult’
(Veronica; 56; poor sight). She went on to say
‘Why would you come up with a display like
this when you can have a display that is
clear’. No other screen that was tested suffered
from this effect.
Image 19 Ghosting
Colour coding
Some users felt that a ‘traffic light system’ that
could be seen from the other side of the room
would be useful, as it would give an instant
indication of the energy consumption at that given
moment. Users did not look at this in detail in the
trials, but did discuss the concept and looked at
examples during focus groups.
While it was considered interesting several users
felt that being told that you are using a lot of
energy is not actually useful. One user said, ‘You
kind of know what to do to save energy’ (Alex;
26). They would need to be told what the source
of the energy consumption is and how they could
address it. The Navetas, provided appliance
specific energy information that is beyond the
expected functionality to be provided in the basic
IHD offer. This information was considered to be
particularly useful, one user gave an example, ‘It
would tell me if I’ve left my straighteners on’
(Gemma; 24).
Questions over how a traffic light system would
work with a dual fuel meter were raised. What if
the default display was for electricity consumption
but the gas consumption was high? Would it glow
red if either the electricity or the gas consumption
was high? These questions were not clearly
answered when using the IHDs.
Efergy Elite suffered with ghosting/shadowing
24
Consumer Focus
Audible alarms and text to
speech
Audible alarms to alert the occupier of high energy
usage, were thought to be useful by some people.
Others did not want this level of intrusion. They felt
that if they are using a lot of energy it is probably
because they are using a number of appliances,
deliberately. Therefore an option to have audible
alarms on or off was felt to be a useful feature to
suit all users.
Being able to customise alarms (eg when a
cheaper, evening tariff begins) was mentioned
during discussions and firmly liked by many users.
This would be a practical way to help people
reduce their bills.
Audible alarms were particularly important for
users with poor sight. They also felt text to speech
would be a huge help, but not essential for all
people with poor sight, if the IHD is well designed.
One user said, ‘I’m actually someone that
wants to do this [carefully manage energy
consumption]’ (Veronica; 56; poor sight), but
feared she would give up if she received any of the
IHDs tested, none had text to speech and none
were considered to be well enough designed for
her to use given her visual impairment.
Aesthetics
Users understood that the purpose of an IHD
was to provide information for people to manage
their energy consumption. However, many users
were conscious that this device would need to
be on permanent display in order to maximise
its potential and therefore they felt the aesthetics
were also important. The extent of aesthetic
importance varied among users, one user said
‘It’s not important in the scheme of things’
(Geoff; 74), while another said ‘I wouldn’t want
it on display’ (Alex; 26), as none of them looked
aesthetically pleasing enough, to his eye.
The aesthetic appeal of each of the IHDs varied
between individuals. Users understood that
designing something to appeal to all users would
be virtually impossible. Greater variation in design
would therefore be something that would appeal.
The degree of sight loss differed among the users
with poor sight. Some users were able to read
some of the text, but all felt strongly that text to
speech would be useful. Users were keen to point
out the increasingly widespread use of text to
speech in a range of technologies, from mobile
phones to set top boxes. Even touch screens
would be accessible, given the appropriate text to
speech software which users already knew existed
in other technologies such as mobile phones.
Making energy use visible
25
Instructions and terminology
During the trials, participants did not use or
assess the manufacturer supplied instructions but
discussed their expectations of, and experiences
with instructions. The more tech-savvy users
were observed in the trials to try and complete
the scenarios without the customised stepby-step instructions and later said they would
typically work things out as they went along with
equipment. One user said, ‘If it is well designed,
it should be plug and play’ (Clive; 46).
However, most of the people that used this ‘plug
and play’ method of using things admitted that
instructions were still important – one user said, ‘It
would give me a little more confidence…it’s a
safety net…the last mobile I had didn’t have
instructions and I didn’t like that’ (Sarah; 32).
Everyone felt that the IHDs should be intuitive, but
simple and clear instructions are also important,
particularly for people who are not comfortable
with modern technology, ‘I get in a mess’
(Graham; 72), but also for people that like to
understand how something works before using it.
People with poor sight required the instructions
to be accessible to them too. One user said, ‘A
manual should be in an accessible format’
(Padma; 72; poor sight).
26
Consumer Focus
Conclusions
This qualitative research with consumers has
provided evidence consistent with many of the
findings uncovered during the 2011 usability
evaluation.20 However, this research goes further
by providing specific examples of exactly why
particular features and characteristics are difficult
or easy, for particular users, including some of the
users that it is most challenging to design for.
It is clear that manufacturers and suppliers
could do more to enhance the accessibility and
usability of their products. This report is further
reminder of the importance of engaging with users
with a diverse range of needs when designing
and selecting consumer technologies. In many
instances, separate solutions for households that,
for example, include someone with poor sight or
poor dexterity are not necessary and will almost
certainly increase overall roll-out costs.
All six IHDs evaluated by users had both good
and bad design elements. Some design elements
left users unable to use the IHD altogether, often
due to quite fundamental ergonomic requirements
eg colour contrast, button size. The good practice
guide will help designers deliver maximum
usability, but this must not be in place of user
engagement and testing.
Focus group discussions highlighted that some
people are not interested in spending time to
learn how to use a new piece of equipment.
IHDs therefore need to be intuitive and provide
important information at a glance.
While young, non-disabled and tech savvy
individuals were able to complete all the scenarios
for each of the IHDs, at times they still had to
overcome elements of poor usability.
These were often the same elements that were
accessibility barriers for others, for example the
difficulty of accurately pressing a button when
it was particularly small and adjacent to others.
Annex 4 includes summary tables of how each of
the devices were viewed by participants in terms
of various types of usability.
Clear instructions were desired as a means to
help get to grips with new equipment, or simply
to serve as a safety net when working things
out becomes too tricky. It is also likely that many
customers will need support in how to use IHDs
face to face during the installation and potentially
afterwards. We recommend that a helpline is
available with appropriately trained staff.
The trials also highlighted the importance of
aesthetics as any IHD would be permanently on
display. Aesthetics was a very subjective matter
and while important should not be at the expense
of ease of use. There are of course challenges
here, balancing choice of appearance versus the
economies of scale from buying IHDs in significant
numbers. It is important that any IHD offered as
standard as part of the roll-out should be usable by
as many people as possible. This, and our previous
research,21 indicates that this is best achieved by
following an inclusive design approach.
The Good Practice Guidance and the Consumer
Guide to Choosing an IHD are available at: http://
bit.ly/QyyDbS.
Consumer Focus, Getting to grips with smart displays. An
expert appraisal of the usability of in-home displays, August
2011 and Consumer Focus, Getting to grips with smart
displays. Research review, November 2011
21
Consumer Focus, Getting to grips with smart displays.
An expert appraisal of the usability of in-home displays,
August 2011
20
Making energy use visible
27
Potential next steps
In-home user trials
As with any new technology, IHDs and devices
available are likely to rapidly change and develop
over time. It will be important to understand
customer’s experiences of using technology in the
home to get a more accurate reflection of their
experiences. This will provide evidence on what
functionality and information is useful or missing.
Broader trial group
Research with people with learning difficulties and
dementia living independently should be included;
an important group of users currently not covered
in research.
Instructions evaluation
An evaluation of user instructions to determine
how easy to use they are.
Central heating control usability
assessments
Central heating is the single biggest contributing
factor to domestic energy consumption. The
focus groups’ discussions indicated a concern
among some users that they could not easily
adjust their heating controls to reduce energy use
due to poor design.
28
Consumer Focus
Annex 1 Excluded IHDs
Below are the IHDs/energy monitors that
were considered for, but excluded from the
user trials. (Images not to scale).
Image 22 Geo Unifi
Image 20 Owl
Image 23 Current Cost EnviR
Image 21 Efergy e2
Making energy use visible
29
Image 24 Eco Eye Elite
Image 28 Geo Solo
Image 25 Humm - Minim
Image 29 Onzo
Image 26 Alert me
Image 27 Current Cost Trec
Image 30 Intercel Totem
30
Consumer Focus
Annex 2 Example task sheet
Task 1
How much electrity has been used so far today, in £s? – If you feel comfortable try and do this without
the step by step instructions below.
1 Touch the electricity icon to make sure you are looking at consumption of electricity not gas.
Make sure this icon is highlighted as shown
2 Touch the £ icon.
Make sure this icon is
highlighted as shown
Task 2
How much electrity has been used so far today, in KWh? – If you feel comfortable try and do this
without the step by step instructions below.
1 Touch the electricity icon to make sure you are looking at consumption of electricity not gas.
Make sure this icon is highlighted as shown
2 Touch the kWh icon.
Make sure this icon is
highlighted as shown
Making energy use visible
31
Task 3
What are the electricity and gas tariffs? – If you feel comfortable try and do this without the step by step
instructions below.
1 Touch the menu button to bring up the main
menu screen
3 Touch the electricity or gas icon to display the
tariff for that fuel
2 Touch the tariffs button
32
Consumer Focus
Task 4
Explore how much electricity was used last month in £s and kW – If you feel comfortable try and do this
without the step by step instructions below.
1 Touch menu
3 Touch the weekly butto, then the monthly
button (this will appear when the weekly button
is pressed)
2 Touch the history button
Making energy use visible
33
Task 4 (cont)
4 Touch the -1mth button. This will display a
graph of last month's energy usage
5 Select electricity
6 Select £ or kW
7 Touch detail view
When the detail view comes up you can switch
between £ and kW
8 You can move the little arrow to see how
much energy is used each day that month. You
need to touch and slide the arrow across the
top to do this
34
Consumer Focus
Task 5
Check the account balance – If you feel
comfortable try and do this without the step by
step instructions below:
This is not possible on this display at this
moment in time
Task 6
What is the projected elecity bill this month? – If
you feel comfortable try and do this without the
step by step instructions below
1 Touch Menu
3 Touch the Bill projection button
2 Touch the billing button
4 Touch the electricity icon (top right)
Making energy use visible
35
Annex 3 Tasks completed by IHD
This table shows the tasks completed for each IHD
NavTeas
Electricity so far today, in £s
Electricity so far today, in kWh


Electricity and gas tariffs
Electricity last month in £s and kW

Smart Ewgeco Chameleon Ecometer Efergy
Energy
(Eon)
Elite
Monitor




Account balance
Projected electricity bill this month
36

Consumer Focus
















Annex 4 IHD difficulties
NavTeas
Smart Ewgeco Chameleon Ecometer Efergy Elite
Energy
(Eon)
Monitor
Pressing buttons
Too small
2
27
14
1
0
1
Poorly spaced
2
20
17
1
0
1
Feedback
2
26
15
3
1
15
Delay
1
26
13
2
1
16
Force to great
1
13
6
3
0
5
Awkward positioning
1
18
7
22
0
3
Buttons on back
1
6
4
24
0
10
Colour contrast
2
11
3
5
4
10
Too small
2
13
3
4
4
12
Not bold
2
11
4
1
3
13
Front
1
8
3
3
2
5
No/poor backlight
1
6
1
2
3
16
Reflection
3
3
2
4
2
6
Unintuitive icons
1
9
2
3
0
5
Poorly labelled
2
5
5
3
5
3
Too small to read
1
1
5
2
2
4
Colour contrast
1
6
3
1
0
1
No/poor backlight
1
3
3
2
0
5
Colour contrast
2
11
6
3
3
13
Text/icons too small
2
9
10
5
5
11
Text/icons not bold
2
7
6
3
2
9
Font
1
3
5
2
2
3
Unintuitive/inaccurate
1
4
4
5
0
4
Poorly positioned
1
5
6
5
0
9
Clutter/confusion
6
8
6
5
3
11
Doesn't stand up
1
9
14
1
1
8
Navigation
1
11
13
10
3
18
Too much information
6
3
4
3
2
4
Difficult to hold
2
2
5
5
0
2
Reading text/icons
Graphs
Button labels
Other elements
Making energy use visible
37
Annex 5 GB population aged over 16
with an impairment
The table below shows the percentage of the
Great British population aged over 16 with an
impairment.1
Impairment
% GB population
aged 16 and over
Sight
3
Hearing
3
Speaking
1
Mobility
8
Dexterity
6
Long term pain
18
Breathing
3
Learning
2
Behavioural
1
Memory
3
Mental health
4
Chronic health conditions
Other impairment or health condition
12
1
Life Opportunities Survey - Interim Wave One Results, 2010
Statistical Bulletin. Impairment is defined by The impairment
groups have been re-ordered in the table to highlight those
possibly of most relevance to IHD design and use
20
38
Consumer Focus
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Media team: 020 7799 8004/8006
Published: November 2012
If you have any questions or would like further information about our research,
please contact Colin Griffiths, by telephone on 020 7799 8017 or
via email [email protected]
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ISBN: 978-1-907125-68-3