Sustainability Issue #3 October 2009

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How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Formas Research Council.

Editor: Margaretha Nordahl

Visualise energy

Activity patterns of everyday life and energy use in households
Kajsa Ellegård (project leader)
Summary of results from Water and Environment, Linköping University
Email: kajel@tema.liu.se
Doctoral thesis: "Visualise energy in households", Erica Löfström

A shining example of energy use

Since energy is largely an invisible product, new methods are needed to influence people's behaviour towards more sustainable use of energy. This was the starting point for the project, the aim of which was to develop different forms of visualisation that can increase the households' understanding of the significance of their behaviour patterns. Members of households in eight single family houses in the Stockholm region have volunteered for in-depth interviews and kept diaries. Three phenomena which visualise energy and energy related behaviour in a concrete way were analysed: the function of the local heating system, solar heating with seasonal storage in rock, and power aware cords that emit a blue light that becomes more intense the more power is passing through them.

The results show that the heating system did not function satisfactorily, which was visualised most effectively. The solar collectors were prominent in the architecture of the area and increased the residents' awareness. Both the heating system as a whole and the households' management of this were clearly visualised by the power aware cord whose blue light intensified as more wattage passed through it. The diary called the attention of the household members to the way energy is used for everyday activities they had not considered before.

Responsible for this page: Birgitta Bruzelius

Journal links

Sustainability October 2009

Focus presentation

When cities grow When cities grow, they become denser, higher and more extensive. People and activities come closer to one another. But not all. This may have good or bad results. In...

Focus articles

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The Interview

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More articles

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In brief

Clouds can predict the climate Measuring technique. In the centre of the photograph, a green laser beam can be seen behind the crest of a hill. The more intensely shining part of the beam shows... Europeans are buying GMO products Many Europeans are sceptical about foods from genetically modified organisms. But when they go shopping, they nevertheless buy foods with GMO labels. On the European... Midge bones reveal fish history The mandible of the phantom midge is microscopic. But in the hands of researchers at the Department of Zoology, Göteborg University, these midge bones become a time ... Alternative methods for animal experiments New in-vitro methods to find hormone disrupting substances. And to predict drug-induced liver injury, to analyse the effect of medicinal dosage and to be able to und... The Rural Landscapes of Europe – How man has shaped European nature As the six months of Swedish Presidency of the EU gets underway, the Swedish Research Council Formas is publishing an English edition of a book about the European cu...

Results from research

Difficult environmental choices for water and air How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma... Visualise energy How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma... Immigrant entrepreneurs in the urban built environment How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma... Our daily bread How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma... The language of flowers for life and death How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma...
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