Energy Data
About Project
Energy data is a set of data collected by Brian Orland and Dena Lang via the Energy Chickens virtual pet game that monitors energy use data collected by Plugwise devices. Each chicken represents a different appliance for which the player is responsible, and the player’s energy consumption affects the well-being of their chickens. Players log in daily to care for their chickens and to collect eggs for points. If a player reduces their energy consumption for an appliance, the chicken associated with that appliance will grow healthier and happier and will lay eggs to be collected for points. If a player increases consumption, their chickens will become sick and will not lay eggs.
The Energy Chicken behavior change game will be one of several energy saving interventions implemented in commercial office buildings by the Occupant Behavior group within Energy Efficient Buildings HUB. In all cases energy-saving interventions will be accompanied by behavioral response monitoring via comprehensive surveys and ecological momentary assessments. For Playing the Archive, Matthey Kenney mapped the electricity fluctuation in a given building from these data collected into Super Collider and used electronic sounds to simulate the various counterparts of objects used accross a particular span of time.
For Playing the Archive, Matthew Kenney sonified the energy consumption of a common office devices over time. He created the sonification to reflect the energy use of the devices in a condensed version of the real-time data. The energy data used stretched from a 8:00pm Sunday night into a Monday afternoon, tracking the energy consumption of 6 devices: a computer, charger, monitor, fan and laptop. An increase in energy consumption from the weekend night into the workday morning is reflected in both the data and the sonification, and sounds were created to reflect noises produced by the respective devices as well as the general feel of energy flowing throughout a building. The sonification was created in SuperCollider with the help of StudioLab and Mark Ballora.