Powerley was born of a joint venture between Michigan’s largest energy provider, DTE, and technology firm Vectorform as a solution to bridge the gap between utilities and their customers. I joined the company’s small design team just as we were beginning to tackle the core part of the experience—showcasing users’ energy usage in a totally new, engaging way.
Goals
Streamline the Energy Experience
Alleviate user friction by reducing the number of actions required to view real-time energy and related insights in the Alpha experience.
Surface actionable data to the user
Utilize the capabilities of Smart Meters along with our Energy Bridge hub to show a disaggregation of users’ home energy consumption by device.
Build a scalable framework for product growth
Create a UI built to withstand iteration and growth as we actively expanded upon our product’s core features.
The Energy Dial
Our most iconic UI component, the Energy Dial, allows users to see their home energy usage for the day–and at any given moment—at a glance. As we’ve grown, so has the Dial to accommodate advances made in the Energy industry along with unique utility pricing models.
cost transparency
Our solution is marketed to utilities with many unique forms of charging for electricity based on their climate and resources. We help build bridges with their customers by providing transparency into how they are charged for energy in a friendly interface.
Device-Level Usage Filtering
Being able to see how much energy your home is using by day is cool enough, but adding device-level information has opened up opportunities to provide an even richer level of understanding. Knowing which devices and appliances have the greatest impact allows users to take focused action, and keep tabs on the overall health of their home’s major appliances.
Results
These updates to the app have showed tangible results for both utilities and their customers as we measure energy efficiency. In 2018, users who engaged just five times per year generated 8% in savings on their energy bill, while those who had 25+ app sessions saved an average of 12%. In Michigan, that 12% equates to around $140 in energy costs! As user reap their rewards, our utility partners have also been able to gain new ways to connect with their customers and continue to build a relationship through Energy Experiences.
Roles
Research
User Experience
UI Design
Product Design
User Testing
Development Handoff
Deliverables
Product Strategy
Research & Analysis
User Flows
Cross-platform UI-UX designs: iOS and Android
Technical Specs
Discovery
First major Product initiative at Powerley which familiarized me with the platform as well as the many different people working on it.
I’ve learned a TON about my own energy usage!
Related
Building a Smarter Home
Insight-driven Engagement