Online portal for visualising the impact of everyday actions on our demand for energy
In this digital age, whenever we think of potential solutions to some of our problems, we’ve all (probably) found ourselves thinking: ‘surely there is an app for that’.
This app is the result of an initiative lead by the CREDS Flexibility theme with a view to supporting the efforts at expanding CREDS research impact beyond its typical audiences through the creation of more widely digestible material that translates some of our research findings into actionable advice; once the material is there, it can be readily distributed to and by other CREDS researchers as well as project partners and members of the energy demand research network.
The aim of this project was to provide accessible, user-friendly visualisations that show the ways in which activities impact energy demand. These visualisations condense a wealth of data from a variety of sources into stand-alone tools; these tools allow users to explore how everyday lives unfold over the course of a day, and what impacts they have on the amount of energy required to provide us with the services we have become used to having access to.
To better understand the motivation behind creating this online resource, I’ve decided to provide a couple of examples of the issues that need to be tackled in order to ensure a prompt transition to a more sustainable energy system. In each of these instances, the visualisation tools offered in the online portal could potentially be applied to the creation of strategies aiming at enhancing public knowledge and improving the communication process.
Author: Jose Luis Ramirez-Mendiola