enCOMPASS addressed the problem of creating a more sustainable society by acting on the way users consume resources, most notably electricity.
Improving the energy consumption habits of people is a key ingredient of any effective strategy to achieve the European objectives of resource consumption reduction and of a more sustainable society.
The enCOMPASS project realized an open platform combining context-dependent energy usage information from sensors (smart meters and smart home appliances), user generated information, adaptive gamified energy visualisation and intelligent controls and automation, to let users achieve sustainable changes in user energy consumption patterns without compromising comfort levels. The project achieved its goal fulfiling five specific objectives:
1) Stimulate behavioural change for energy saving with a holistic approach integrating innovative digital tools with smart home automation and a full-cycle model of sustained behavioural change. The enCOMPASS project integrated user-friendly visualizations, context- awareness, adaptive gamification, context-aware energy saving recommendations implementing a holistic system for behavioural change.
2) Make energy usage data accessible to consumers in a user-friendly, easy-to-understand way. The enCOMPASS App visualises energy consumption in a way that translates the abstract, numeric consumption data into a semantically understandable format for the users, by applying visual metaphors that are easy to use, easy to understand and fun to explore.
3) Demonstrate that individual comfort levels can be maintained while achieving energy savings. Recommending targeted energy saving actions to users will allow them to save energy while retaining personal comfort levels.
4) Validate the relative effectiveness of different types of behavioural change interventions for different types of users, in different types of settings and in different climatic conditions. Effectiveness has been assessed in three different types of buildings and settings (residential, schools, public buildings) for different user types (households, school classes, office employees, visitors), in three different cultural and climatic conditions (DE, GR, CH).
5) Make enCOMPASS available to designated third-parties (in privacy-preserving ways) initiating the creation of a business ecosystem for the development and provision of value-added services for smart energy demand management. The enCOMPASS platform and its modules are made available as platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) with open APIs for developers of new extensions and value added services.