Mobile Persuasive Design for HEMS Adaptation

With the global adoption and implementation of smart grid technology, the coherent and steady involvement of consumers is required for the successful use of available technology. Changing consumer behavior has always been a challenge, particularly for home energy monitoring systems (HEMS). This paper introduces a novel approach of personalizing the mobile application experience for the consumer by assessing individual personality traits before giving consumers a mobile application which has the potential to retrain the consumers (users) and sustain reduced electricity usage for a household. To support the extension of electricity monitoring to the mobile app market, persuasive design models were created to target major factors which would appeal to consumers, such as saving money and environmental impact. The models were shared with a sample population to determine the probability of mobile app adoption by consumers, anticipated usage patterns, interface usage rankings, and motivations. The survey results are presented here, with analysis and identification of the challenges involved in engaging consumers and changing behaviors