News
Energy orb technology and Lucid's Building Dashboard® featured in Christian Science Monitor
December 18, 2008
Boston, MA - Lucid team members, John Petersen and Michael Murray, are interviewed in a Christian Science Monitor article titled 'Power meters help homeowners track and cut their energy use,' discussing the use of energy orbs and Lucid's Building Dashboard®, which allow people to watch their power diets. From the article:
"Out on the high frontier of energy efficiency, John Petersen sees a future where every home has a 'building dashboard' and an 'energy orb' to help Americans shift from electricity-gulping ignorance to power-sipping sophistication.
"... But America's high-voltage diet could be chopped if people thought more about their energy use, he says. Like the miles-per-gallon readout in some hybrid cars, gauges could be put in homes so residents can know whether their energy use is pedal-to-the-metal or proceeding at a reasonable clip. 'You've got dashboards in your car, but until recently nobody had really created one for buildings,' he says. 'It's all about citizens being better informed about energy use -- understanding the context of one's actions.'
"Petersen says the orb and the dashboard he helped invent cater to four E's - 'engage, entertain, educate, and empower.' Numerous studies show that given the opportunity to save money by curbing energy use - and given the technology to take action to reduce it - consumers will take action.
"... An energy orb now hangs in the lobbies of six Oberlin dorms, glowing fiery red to remind students when energy use in a dorm is soaring or cool green when consumption falls. During a recent competition, Oberlin students, who don't even pay electric bills directly, whacked 56 percent off their power consumption by becoming hyperaware of how much they were using.
"'I had an [energy] orb in my dorm last year, and it really did affect the way I thought about my energy use,' writes Pichaya Winichakul, an Oberlin sophomore in an e-mail interview. 'Having it there was a constant reminder when I left for class or meals that I can always do more to reduce. I even rearranged part of my room so that I only needed to use one outlet that could be switched on and off to save energy.'
"... 'We are definitely seeing a shift toward smart meters and real-time pricing,' Mr. Faruqui says. 'Without a doubt, [building dashboards] are where the future is.. Right now homes have a meter outside that's the same variety as the one that was on [turn-of-the-century inventor Thomas] Edison's house. In a few years, though, new homes will be equipped with them as a design feature.'
"... 'What we're doing is the next level, not individual users but communities of users, comparing energy across different homes, buildings, and groups of buildings,' says Michael Murray, president of Lucid."
Photo: Oberlin College professor John Petersen (left) and students Alex Totoiu and Adam Hull. (Kevin Reeves)
Read the CSMonitor.com article online >>
About Lucid Design Group
Lucid Design Group is a privately held cleantech software company, founded in 2004, and a pioneer in providing real-time information feedback to teach, inspire change and save resources. Over the past five years, our team has endeavored to make resource use visible, accessible and engaging so that building occupants have the tools to reduce and manage their consumption.
Today, tens of thousands of people live and work in schools, companies, community and commercial centers and homes enhanced by Lucid's web-based Building Dashboard® technology. Now in its third generation, the intuitive Building Dashboard® user interface allows you to connect personal electricity, water and natural gas consumption with the actions and events that take place within buildings.
