Exploring Interface Design for Energy Data Visualization: A Usability Testing Workshop

Abstract

Understanding electricity consumption and production is increasingly vital for consumers in the Nordics, particularly due to fluctuating energy stock market rates. Data visualization is the primary method to get information on energy data consumption. In this paper, we tested the interface design for energy data visualization, evaluated through a usability testing workshop. Thirteen household energy consumers from rural Finland, who actively manage their energy consumption, participated in this workshop. They experienced two energy interfaces: a basic mobile-based interface using paper wireframing and an advanced augmented reality-based interface utilizing mobile camera technology. Participants were given a survey form, and their feedback discussion, and suggestions were recorded. We collected qualitative and quantitative data to understand their energy behaviors and visualization preferences. The study of energy interface canvases created by individuals enabled us to identify common preferences and the thematic analysis of recorded discussion further improved our results. These findings contribute to understanding the energy interface and information preferences of different energy consumers and will provide evidence for the creation of energy interface design principles.