Verena Tiefenbeck, from ETH, presents the great shower smart meter technology that shows you in polar bears how much water and energy you have used. From Task 24 workshop on behaviour change in Luzern, October 15, 2013.

1. Showered with feedback – How real-time
information can change our daily habits
IEA DSM Task 24 - Closing the Loop - Behavior
Change in DSM: From Theory to Policies and Practice
Verena Tiefenbeck
Bits to Energy Lab, ETH Zurich
iHomeLab (Hochschule Luzern), October 15, 2012

2. The Bits to Energy Lab is a research initiative
of the ETH Zurich, the University of St. Gallen
and the University of Bamberg.
Information Management
(E. Fleisch, ETH Zurich, lead)
Distributed Systems Group
(F. Mattern, ETH Zurich)
Operations Management
(E. Fleisch, University St. Gallen)
Energy Efficient Systems
(T. Staake, University Bamberg)
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 2
© ETH / HSG

3. We combine IT and social science concepts to
motivate households to reduce their energy
consumption.
Measure / Retrieve
behavioral data
Data analytics
B2E Lab
October 2013
Place Interventions
(targeting behavior
or enhancing
automation)
Measure and
adjust
Slide 3
© ETH / HSG
Research-based
implementation
Transfer to
practice in
collaboration with
organizations

4. Our study was carried out in collaboration with
partners from Academia, Industry and Politics.
Bits to Energy Lab at ETH Zurich (lead)
Amphiro AG
ewz (Energiewerke Zürich)
BFE (Swiss Federal Department of Energy)
University of Lausanne
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 4
© ETH / HSG

5. Behavioral science insights need to be translated
into scaled interventions and products.
Attitudes, perceptions, habits, subconscious
processes,
Social sciences: mechanisms for behavior change
Promising and cost-effective pilots and prototypes
Application and large-scale implementation is missing
Rocky path from concept / prototype to large-scale
deployment
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 5
© ETH / HSG

6. Hot water is 2nd largest contributor to
residential energy use, but hardly measured
and brought to users‘ attention.
Powering metering devices is tricky in wet environment
Energy dimension: low awareness
Feedback at point of consumption
Easy to understand
High user control
Visible and tangible (water)
Source: DoE Buildings Energy Data Book 2011
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 6
© ETH / HSG

7. Promising results of a pilot study motivated
further R&D to move from prototype to mass
production.
Pilot study (2011) with promising results:
Prototype of smart shower meter
Energy and water consumption: 22% reduction
However:
Sample size (N=61)
Sampling bias
Methodological issues
→ Further research and development, cleaner & larger study
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 7
© ETH / HSG

8. Users can install the smart water meter
amphiro a1 in three simple steps.
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 8
© ETH / HSG

9. What the smart water meter measures and
displays
Measures
Flow rate
Temperature
Duration (shower, interruptions)
Derived from that
per shower
Water volume
Energy consumption
Display (standard)
Temperature
Water volume
Energy efficiency class
Polar bear animation
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 9
© ETH / HSG
Amphiro harvests its
energy from the water flow.

10. One third of the 697 participating households
were randomly assigned into the control group
(only temperature displayed).
Treatment
group
Control
group
33%
67%
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 10
© ETH / HSG

11. Our 2-month study combines shower data with
survey information.
csv csv
csv csv
csv
csv csv
csv csv
csv
csv
46,835 showers in
636 households
697 initial
surveys,coded
629 complete
datasets
Survey & smart
metering data
(Uni Lausanne)
666 final surveys,
coded
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 11
© ETH / HSG

12. What the implementation of the field trial
looked like in reality
Visual data readout
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 12
© ETH / HSG

13. The vast majority of study participants was
overall satisfied with the device (83%) and
intended to continue using it (79%).
"I'm overall satisfied with the
shower meter."
"I / We intend to continue using
the device after the study."
2% 1%
2%
4%
5%
5%
Agree strongly
10%
10%
Agree
Neither nor
50%
54%
Disagree
32%
25%
Disagree strongly
Don't know
N=665 (Participants of final
survey incl. control group)
N=445 (Participants of final
survey excl. control group)
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 13
© ETH / HSG

14. Households with the display information
reduced their shower consumption by 23%.
Households with the display decreased their water and
energy consumption by 23% relative to the control group
– Time: -22%
– Breaks: +12%
– Temperature: -0.25°C
– Flow rate: no significant change
Per-shower reduction
– 10.6 liters
– 360 Wh (η=100%) → 550 Wh (η=65%)
Effects stable throughout the study (long-term study still
ongoing)
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 14
© ETH / HSG

15. The per-household energy reduction exceeds
the impact of electricity smart meters by far
(and at a much lower price point).
Deployment in 5% of Swiss households = equivalent of
electricity production by Swiss wind power in 2012
ROI much higher than for electricity smart meters
Reduction
Electricity smart
meters1
Smart shower
meters
Energy – relative
consumption
change
3.2% of
household
electricity
23% of shower
energy
Energy – absolute
change
86 kWh
443 kWh
/
8500
15
96
Water (liters/yr)
Cost savings
(CHF/yr)
1source:
ewz-Studie Smart Metering,
www.stadt-zuerich.ch/content/dam/stzh/ewz/Deutsch/Netz/Publikationen und Broschueren/Praesentation_ewz_sm.pdf
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 15
© ETH / HSG

16. Summary of key reduction figures - thank you
for listening.
Reduction per household per year:
– 23% reduction of energy and water use in the shower
– Water: 8500 liters
– 443 kWh
– CHF 96
Thank you very much for your attention.
Contact
Verena Tiefenbeck │ Bits to Energy Lab │ Chair for Information Management
Department Management, Technology and Economics│ ETH Zurich
Office: + 41 44 632 3953│ Email: vtiefenbeck@ethz.ch
B2E Lab
October 2013
Slide 16
© ETH / HSG