Icon

Just a quick look now at one possible icon design I might go for. I designed this in Photoshop.

I am now starting to work on the graphics that will be contained within the app.

Name for the app

It has been hard coming up with the name for this app. I have had a few different ideas but I think I'm going to settle with I-tricity. I am now going to start to brand the name, creating a logo and choosing the best font for the design.

How the App will link

This is the first draft of how the different component of the app link up. Again this is not the design, it is the links between the different screens. As you can see the home page links to different screens and from there the user receives extra options on which task they perform. 

This is the first draft is will can as the design of the app progress and after the app has been tested on an array of different people. So at this stage it is the skeleton of the app. 

Set up links

This is a brief look of how the set up process will look. This is not the design of the set up stage it is the first draft of how each page will link to each other and the different tasks that the user must perform to set up the app.

Plans and wire frame for the App

Wire Frame of the Application

What the app does

·      Control the power in each room

·      Control the lights

·      Control the heating

·      Standby switch

·      Meter

How will it control the power in each room?

I’ve been looking into a number of different ways of the app knowing which room of the house that it is controlling at any one time. These are some of the following possible solutions:

·      Each room has a number (The user numbers each room in the house. I don’t think I’ll go for this option as I can see it becoming over complicated.)

·      Each room is named (The user enters the name of each room eg sitting room, kitchen, John’s bedroom etc.)

·      Use the built in GPS on the Apple device. This way the device will know which room it is in at anyone time. (As a house is very small in terms of pinning down location, I don’t know how well this technique will work.)

How to control the power and lighting in each room

·      Once the device knows which room it is in it will show a switch for the lights, the user will be able to turn the lights up and down and on and off.

·      The user will also be able to control the temperature of the heating in that room. There will be a slider that lets them turn the temperature up or down.

·      The user will be able to power every socket on or off at one time.

How to control the heating

·      The user will be able to control the overall temperature of the heating using the app.

·      They will be able to control the temperature in each room by selecting the room and then the temperature.

·      There will be a time control system on the app that will allow them to set when their heating comes on and off.

·      They will be able to access their heating when they are not in the house and be able to switch it on and off.

The Standby Switch

·      Once the app is set up it will know which switches must always be left on and will be able to switch on and off the rest of them. This means that when the user is leaving the building or going to bed that they can make sure that is nothing left on that shouldn’t be.

Meter

·      The meter will show in real time how many units of electricity have been used.

·      It will also break these units down into month-by-month usage.

·      It will display the cost of each unit.

Design

Design is a very important part of my app. It must engage the user and be easy to use. I have started to research Apple's developer guide. I have also checked out Apps that have won awards with Apple for their design... http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/ada/

I am researching the "user experience" at the moment, Apple say "User experience encompasses the appearance, behavior, and accessibility of applications. Because your users are accustomed to the beauty, power, and simplicity of iOS-based devices, your goal is to design a user experience that reflects these qualities and helps your app feel at home on the device. For the best results, stay focused on the user experience at every stage in your development process."
http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#referencelibrary/GettingStarted/GS_UserExperience_iPhone/_index.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40007296

The user experience is key to my app. After creating the wireframe diagram I am going to design the app in Mock app and then text the app on different people (different age groups, backgrounds etc.)

"See Red Switch Off"

This is the SEAI new slogan. They esitimated that up to €35 million being wasted each year by people not switching domestic appliances off fully. (2004)
"leaving domestic appliances on standby, rather than switching them off fully, is costing the Irish economy millions in wasted energy each year – and damaging our environment in the process."

Souce SEAI http://www.seai.ie/News_Events/Press_Releases/2004/Up_to_%E2%82%AC35_million_being_wasted_each_year_by_people_not_switching_domestic_appliances_off_fully_16_01_04.html

So how much energy is being wasted by appliences being left on stand by?

"Britons waste the equivalent of around two power stations' worth of electricity each year by leaving TV sets and other gadgets on standby. "

British experts reckon that electrical equipment in sleep mode uses roughly 7TWh of energy and emits around 800,000 tonnes of carbon.

The average household has up to 12 gadgets on standby or charging.

It has been calculated that the CO2 emissions from electrical equipment being left on standby are equivalent to 1.4 million long-haul flights.

Estimated annual CO2 emissions from devices left on standby:

Stereos - 1,600,000 tonnes

Videos - 960,000 tonnes

TVs - 480,000 tonnes

Consoles - 390,000 tonnes

DVD players - 100,000 tonnes

Set-top boxes - 60,000 tonnes

(Source: Energy Saving Trust)

These are the facts and figures about Britain's energy wastage through standby. With the app that I am proposing it would cut these figures right down with a simple click of a button!

Source - BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4620350.stm