Green Interfaces

Experience and interaction designs for sustainability

Tahoe Hybrid Energy Dashboard

This weekend I opened my new issue of The New Yorker (now you've got me pegged) and noticed something interesting about the inside cover ad spread. The most prominent selling point in this Earth Day ad for the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid is the SUV's screen interface.  The caption reads: Visual readout of ...

Prius MPG and Energy Monitor screens

Along with geognerd's insights in the comments of yesterday's post, I've found some interesting things on the Prius dashboard. First, a Prius enthusiast named John put together a breakdown of the different states of the "Energy Monitor" screen, with side-by-side comparison of the latest design with an earlier one. The ...

Making energy use visible

A lot is being done for energy conservation by way of smarter, greener building, and product design is getting smarter. For most people, though, there remains a disconnect in the way they use their energy, and how they want to use their energy. It's too ...

About

This blog addresses sustainability in design, especially in experience and interaction design. Ideas, tools, and applications with an eye towards sustainable living are multiplying. I found that I was gathering a sizable cache of resources by my own research, and I hope that by sharing it I can inspire others.

Michael Gomez
Interaction Designer, Austin TX

Wed 11 Jun 02008
Tags: awareness, data, home 2 Comments

A Much Needed Device, Much in Need of Design

Spend any time researching the current field of home energy monitoring products and you're very likely to see mention of the Kill-A-Watt, a device from P3 International. The Kill-A-Watt can read the energy use of an appliance plugged into it, and is marketed as a tool for identifying the ...
Thu 29 May 02008
Tags: Uncategorized No Comments

Mobile App For Greening Daily Trips

Eco2Go, a mobile application concept from engineering students in Canada, generates carbon footprint information by tracking movement throughout the day. The home screen on the Eco2Go prototype shows a Google map with current trip information and the estimated pounds of CO2 since the last carbon offset. Significantly, ...
Fri 23 May 02008
Tags: awareness, home, visualization No Comments

Newspaper coverage of smart electricity in Texas

Houston Chronicle photos Two recent front-page articles in mainstream city newspapers covered the emergence of smart metering in Texas. I think it's a good indication that these technologies and devices are nearing the mainstream here. The Austin American-Statesman covered the installation from the perspective of utility efficiency ...
Tue 6 May 02008
Tags: awareness, home, visualization 3 Comments

Household CO2 Emission Visualizations

Posted by Kyra Edeker The Victoria, Australia government is running an ad pitching conservation by depicting an average household's production of greenhouse gases. Black balloons sprouting from appliances, lamps and electronics each represent 50g of greenhouse emissions. The quiet commercial feels slightly sinister, with the dark balloons sprouting out of the empty house. It's an ...
Sun 13 Apr 02008
Tags: feedback, mpg, visualization No Comments

Tahoe Hybrid Energy Dashboard

This weekend I opened my new issue of The New Yorker (now you've got me pegged) and noticed something interesting about the inside cover ad spread. The most prominent selling point in this Earth Day ad for the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid is the SUV's screen interface.  The caption reads: Visual readout of ...

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