Empowering Household Energy Savings App
Encouraging Energy-Saving Habits in Finnish Homes Through Engagement and Motivation
This project fosters household energy reduction in Finland by shifting the focus from monetary incentives to intrinsic motivation. Through gamification, personalized insights, and neighborhood comparisons, we make energy conservation more engaging, educational, and actionable.
Energy Industry, Electrical Power Industry
6 Weeks (Feb. 2024 - April 2024)
Jihae, Anna, liao, Beatrice,
Prototype (Individual Work), Research (Team work), Ideation (Team work), Evaluation (Team work)
UX/UI, Strategic Design, Product Design
Challenge
Finland's per capita electricity use is among the highest in Europe.
Limited Awareness of Effective Household Energy-Saving Actions
Current electricity app Focus on electricity prices for behavior change, but small savings fail to motivate users.
Results
The redesigned interface prioritizes intuitive insights, social comparisons, and gamification—transforming energy-saving into an engaging, actionable experience.
80%
of participants Preferred redesigned insight page over traditional electricity tracking apps
70%
of participants said the social comparison feature encouraged them to reduce their energy usage.
9/10
participants reported feeling more motivated when using the Energy Tree gamification feature.
Goals
Promoting Sustainable Energy Use Beyond Monetary Incentives
Fostering intrinsic motivation through personalized insights, real-time feedback, and gamification encourages long-term energy-saving behaviors—without relying solely on monetary rewards.
Finland ranks among the highest in Europe, with an average annual household electricity use of 14,747 kWh (International Energy Agency, 2022).
Despite the benefits of carbon literacy, 57% of people remain unaware of energy-related risks (Gajdzik et al., 2024).
Monetary incentives don’t drive behavior change → Small cost savings fail to motivate users.
Data lacks actionable insights → Users check energy usage occasionally, but it doesn't translate into meaningful energy-saving actions.
User Research
Why Do Residents Struggle to Act on Energy Savings?
We interviewed eight residents and found that many are unaware of their energy consumption. We identified three key insights about their current energy consumption behavior:
Lack of Information & Awareness Many are unaware of which actions are truly effective for saving energy.
Convenience Over Sustainability People stick to habits that feel easy, even if they aren’t energy-efficient.
Feeling Lack of Control & Feedback The effects of energy-saving are not immediately visible.
Opportunities
What could motivate Residents to Act on Sustainable energy use behaviour?
From the interviews, We identified three key motivational drivers to uncover opportunities for a solution
Compare with Neighboring Households: Residents said they will be more motivated when they can compare their energy use with similar households.
Customized feedback & easy-to-do tips: Instant feedback on energy use helps residents see the impact of their actions.
Detailed consumption of each appliance: Understanding which appliances consume the most energy allows users to make smarter choices.
UX/UI Strategies
Enhancing Energy Insights: From Data to Action
Users often struggle to interpret energy data due to complex measurements and lack of context. Our redesigned interface prioritizes intuitive insights, social comparisons, and gamification—transforming energy-saving into an engaging, actionable experience.
Outcome
Customize, Breakdown, and Actionable Tips
Energy Tree: A Living Reflection of Your Impact
The Energy Tree visually represents the real-world impact on the environment. The Energy Tree turns energy-saving actions into a fun, visual experience.
✔ Instant Visual Feedback See the impact of your actions visually.
✔ Encouraging Small Wins Every energy-saving actions gets reward for tree to grow
✔ Gamification for Motivation Watch your tree grow as you build better habits.
Compare Your Energy Use with Neighbors
Residents can now compare their energy consumption with similar households,
✔ Ranks energy use among neighbors and in Finland.
✔ Seasonal breakdown – Helps residents adjust usage in different climates.
✔ Comparison with efficient homes – Shows savings potential if users adopt better energy habits.
Results
Validating Engagement & Behavioral Impact of the Energy-Saving App
Through user testing and surveys with 10 participants, we evaluated how our redesigned energy-saving app impacts user engagement and motivation. We conducted a comparative usability test between our prototype and existing electricity tracking apps, followed by a post-test survey to measure user sentiment and behavioral intent.
80%
of participants Preferred redesigned insight page over traditional electricity tracking apps
70%
of participants said the social comparison feature encouraged them to reduce their energy usage.
9/10
participants reported feeling more motivated when using the Energy Tree gamification feature.