PowerPal

PROJECT OVERVIEW

PROJECT OVERVIEW

THE PROBLEM: Energy bills continue to rise, yet many renters and homeowners and renters don’t understand what is driving the increase. Most energy monitoring tools show raw data without context, leaving users to guess instead of make informed decisions.

THE SOLUTION:

DESIGN SPRINT 1

User Flow

I began by identifying the core user needs:

  • Reduce energy bills

  • Understand cost drivers

  • Lower carbon footprint

Competitor Research

I analyzed existing energy monitoring platforms, including Loop, to understand how they:

  • Present consumption data

  • Motivate continued engagement

  • Reinforce habit-building

This helped identify gaps in clarity, personalization, and behavioral motivation.

User Journey Mapping

I mapped the typical energy experience:

  1. Bill arrives

  2. User reacts to high cost

  3. Attempts temporary reduction

  4. Forgets to continue new energy saving habits until next bill arrives

DESIGN SPRINT 2

Site Architecture

I structured the app around:

  • Dashboard

  • Graphs

  • Devices

  • Energy Education

  • Energy Management (Goals)

Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Focused on:

  • Clear hierarchy

  • Multiple data visualizations (bar, line, bubble)

  • Device breakdown

  • Goal-setting feature

Testing & Affinity Mapping

I conducted user tests with:

  • 4 participants

  • Renters (20s)

  • Homeowners (30s)

  • ~10-minute sessions over Zoom

Key Findings

  • 50% of users struggled to find “Energy Consumed Today” outside the dashboard.

  • 50% showed little interest in energy education and preferred specific usage details instead.

  • Users preferred bar charts for quick comparisons rather than lines.

  • A correlation emerged between interest in Goal Tracking and higher frequent app use.

  • Three users recommended friendlier, more vibrant colors.

Affinity mapping helped cluster issues around:

  • Discoverability

  • Label clarity

  • Visualization hierarchy

  • Motivation

DESIGN SPRINT 3

New Changes

  • Added “View More” buttons for clearer navigation pathways

  • Made the Bar Chart the first visible visualization

  • Displayed Goals first on the Energy Management page

  • Renamed:

    • “Device List” → “My Devices”

    • “Set Up Device” → “Add Device”

    • and “Graphs” → “Graphs & Usage” for simpler, and friendlier language

  • Created a toggle button Line/Bar chart on the Dashboard

  • Updated “Energy Consumed Today” to include breakdown by device

  • Reduced emphasis on Energy Education (still accessible but secondary)

Testing (Sprint 3)

Testing the revised wireframes revealed a larger behavioral insight:

Users may not need extensive energy education because they primarily check the app near their billing cycle.

This raised a new challenge:

How can we keep users engaged throughout the month?

This led to the introduction of gamification.

DESIGN SPRINT 4

Introducing Gamification: PowerPal

To increase engagement frequency, I introduced PowerPal, a gamified feature that transforms energy-saving into a rewarding experience.

Concept

A PowerPal turns energy saving into a rewarding journey. By completing personal goals or daily challenges, users earn Eco Points. With Eco Points, they can grow a virtual garden, forest, or energy-efficient city, while saving money and reducing their environmental impact in real life.

Core Mechanic

  • Goals became the primary way to earn points

  • Daily challenges encouraged consistent check-ins

  • Visual growth reinforced positive behavior

Testing PowerPal

To test users and better know what the goal function could include, users were asked:

  • What do you think PowerPal is for?

  • How would you view your current goal?

  • How would you set a new goal?

  • How would you customize your PowerPal world?

  • What energy-saving goals would you set?

Findings

  • Users clearly understood that PowerPal was tied to progress

  • Goals were the strongest motivator

  • The virtual growth system increased emotional investment

Gamification successfully addressed the low mid-month engagement issue.

DESIGN SPRINT 5

In the final sprint, I tested the high fidelity prototype.

Users were asked to:

  • Check live energy consumption

  • Identify appliances currently in use

  • Check energy usage by room

  • Add a device

  • View and edit goals

  • Access PowerPal

Results

  • Navigation labels were significantly clearer

  • Live consumption was easier to locate

  • Goal creation was intuitive

  • PowerPal added perceived motivation

  • Visual hierarchy improved data readability

Final Outcome

Sign In & Dashboard
Graphs
Devices
PowerPal & Goal Setting

The redesigned energy monitor transforms passive bill-checking into an engaging, goal-driven system.

Instead of reacting once a month, users are encouraged to:

  • Track daily usage

  • Identify cost drivers

  • Set meaningful goals

  • Earn rewards

  • Build long-term energy-saving habits

By combining smart data visualization with behavioral motivation, the app empowers users to reduce costs and their carbon footprint consistently, not just at the end of the month.

Smooth Scroll
This will hide itself!