Learning Energy Systems at Science Festival

How can we reduce the amount of energy that schools use in things like lighting and electrical equipment? Drop in to try some devices designed to solve this problem by allowing people, objects, sensors, data and machines to interact, creating opportunities to use energy more wisely. The team have been working with local schools to find ways to visualise and raise awareness of energy consumption in their class rooms. At the Museum we invited participants to draw out how they saw energy.

Hadi Mehroupya has designed an interactive visualisation to show the impact of electricity being used in the schools.

Learning Energy Systems is a research project from the University of Edinburgh, and is a collaboration between ESALA, Design Informatics, Informatics, and The Institute for the Study Science, Technology and Innovation. Project team- Mark Selby, Kate Carter, Hadi Mehroupya, Fionn Tynan-O’Mahony.

The project will use design-led research methods, and co-design to explore possibilities for the development of energy systems that are better integrated into communities’ complex social and cultural settings. We will develop a collective ‘Learning Energy System’ involving people, objects, data and machines. Central to this is a digital system designed to align human needs and comfort with building energy systems, with the aim of to reducing overall energy demand. This project differs from many energy reduction projects. The building user; as a sensor of conditions; as a driver of energy demand; as an individual; and as a collective, is at the heart of the ‘Learning Energy System’. Dynamic interactions between people and technology will be set up using innovative mobile applications.