Hasso-Plattner-Institut
Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Hasso Plattner
 

Energy Management iPad Prototype

This short demonstration gives an overview of the supported features of our iPad app.

Overview of the User Interface

The iPad app essentially consists of four parts. In the left column we have a list of the different devices like the coffee machine. We can also select categories which each include multiple devices and - furthermore - we can switch to the overall consumption of our exemplary household. In the right part we can see the energy consumption diagram for the chosen device(s). The detail level of this diagram can be adjusted above it by selecting whether we want to see the consumption of a whole year, or a month, day, etc. Below the diagram brief information about how many data was processed in which time to plot the graph is given.

Visualization of the Current Energy Consumption

The app is capable of real-time visualization of the current consumption of devices. The screenshot below shows how consumption rose while coffee was being made.

Viewing the past consumption of the coffee machine

Switching to the detail level 'day' while having selected the coffee machine device allows viewing past consumption of all preceding days. For each day we can see the energy consumption per hour.

Controlling the Costs for Each Device

Not only the energy consumption but also the costs generated by any device can be of high interest. For that reason the iPad app can display the costs for each detail level. By a single "two-tip touch" on the diagram the view switches and shows the costs for the corresponding timeframe.

Viewing the Overall Consumption of the Household

While it is helpful to see different devices and their consumption a customer may be interested in the overall consumption too. The image below shows the consumption of the current month. The darker red color represents the already consumed energy while the lighter color shows a consumption prediction.

Consumption prediction

Based on all historical data we can calculate a prediction of energy consumption. This calculation is done - like every other calculation - on database level. It makes use of an implemented prediction algorithm.

Current and Predicted Costs

Due to our consumption prediction a household can get an overview of the costs for the current month. Not only is the already consumed energy taken into account but also the predicted consumption. The screenshot shows that a household can see what costs have already occurred through the consumed energy and what costs will appear until the end of the month with the prediction.

Different rates

The view also shows how much the rest of the month will cost with all available rates. So the user can find out which rate is most reasonable in real-time. In the case below the standard rate (which is the currently chosen one) is pretty costly in comparison to the flexible rate.

Switching the Rate

Since the user can see in real-time which rate is most reasonable it is useful to give him the possibility to switch the rate at any time. This is what our app provides. As to be seen in the both images below the user is asked after tapping on the wanted rate whether he wants to switch. Confirming this with a second tap has switched his rate in split seconds.