Power Point is designed to make visible the amount of power being consumed by each mains socket in a direct and immediate way.

 

First working prototype of the Power Point socket, although somewhat crude, the model gives live feedback of power drawn by any 240v ac device plugged in. - click image to enlarge -

By utilising a technology called X10 to send information through existing power cables, Power Point can pass information about patterns of power consumption to a central database.

 

Exhibition setup to show demonstration of concept, this model ran on 9v DC safe voltage for unsupervised public interaction.

The model gave an overview of the system's possibilities allowing the public to plug in a virtual appliance and see power consumption feedback on the socket with live power and appliance location on a monitor screen.

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Additionally there is the built-in ability to turn off sockets, pre-defined as nonessential, in the event of power failure. This allows the property to continue functioning from a backup until mains power returns.

 

Monitor screen shot from exhibition to show proof of concept. Appliance uses power drawn and location of appliance.

By plugging and un-plugging the user sees live and synchronised visual feedback on both the socket and the screen, enabling an experiential understanding of the system.

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Over time, the product is intended to change patterns of power use by creating awareness of how much power individual appliances draw.

 

Background and Context

 

The project came out of a one week residence with Grizedale Arts while studying at the RCA. The organization was in the process of moving to a new, inspiring yet remote location, Lawson Park.

 

There were a number of issues being faced that needed possible design solutions - from overcoming strict planning restrictions to local suspicion towards a contemporary arts organisation working in an area more associated with romantic notions of landscape.

 

Flow chart overview of the complete system that was proposed as a response to the specifically chosen context. As you can see, the Power Point socket was just one part of a bigger bespoke system.

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I chose to work with the organisation's aspirations to incorporate a sustainable low impact approach to their new location. As well as the more immediate problem that was posed by the power cuts that frequently brought things to a holt.

View of Lake Coniston from the back of Grizedale Arts, Lawsonpark.