Trend: Power Awareness

Green Gadgets make energy visible, increasing the awareness of power consumption.

Trend Description:
Energy is easily reduced to an always-available, though invisible, product. Interactive Institute showcased a variety of innovative prototypes making energy visible to the consumer at the recent Nextfest in New York. With these green gadgets, the Swedish Research Institute wants to challenge the way we think about energy consumption in everyday life. The gadgets are supposed to raise awareness concerning energy and sustainability.

Cases:

Power-Aware Cord:
This power strip lights up to show how much energy is used by the consumer’s gadgets. The blue glow grows more and more intense with the amount of electricity flowing through it.

Eratic Radio:
With the Erratic Radio consuers can listen to their energy usage. If the energy usage runs really high, the radio untunes itself.

Flower Lamp:
The metallic petals of the flower lamp do not open until the energy usage in the household is consistently low. This is supposed to encourage family members to consume less energy or at least start to be aware of how much power they need.

Energy Curtain:
The Energy Curtain is window shade which collects solar energy during day, and displays it as a glowing pattern during night.

Element:
Element looks like a box for light. It is made out of glass, metal, and enough light bulbs to reach the same heat level as an electric radiator. Actually, 95% of the energy from lightbulbs is transformed into heat. Because of the brightness of the bulbs Element makes the energy being used visible. It also adjusts itself to the temperature of the room.

Appearing Wallpaper
Not shown at the Nextfest was this Appearing-Pattern Wallpaper. By slowly reacting to the exposure of sunlight the boldly-colored wallpaper shows patterns and textures printed with UV-sensitive ink. This poetic project shows how energy, which is not as instant and apparent as electricity, can transform ordinary things and everyday life.

The Choice Switch
The Choice Switch allows users to decide on the source of energy that powers their home. Right now, it’s just an idea and an experiment to possibly investigate the choices people are inclined to make regarding energy consumption.

Trend Impact:
Most consumers tend to reduce electricity to an abstract phenomenon, an always availabe although invisible product. Green gadgets show that there is more to electricity than just “two holes in the wall“. By becoming more aware of the amount power they use, consumers might become more willing to investigate more environmentally-friendly appliances and gadgets.

Interactive Institute

Nextfest

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