Technology with the Environment in Mind

Green Homeowners as Lead Adopters: Sustainable Living and Green Computing

METHOD

In addition to surveys, focus groups, and other market research, Intel gains insight into the daily practices and everyday behaviors of consumers through ethnographic research. This typically involves visiting with people in their homes, workplaces, and other locations with the objective of developing a deep understanding of the values, beliefs, and worldviews that inform their perspective of technology in their lives. Methods usually include informal interviews, participatory exercises (such as collaboratively mapping the home and asking how participants interact with various areas of it; or working with an image-association card deck), home tours, and participant observation.

The ethnographic data from this research (video footage, photographs, interview transcripts, artifacts such as annotated maps, and other relevant materials) are then analyzed, and the findings are used to identify opportunities for our computing platforms to enable experiences that consumers value. This process typically involves refining a series of user experience models (or usages) that are designed to best tailor technological capabilities to the lives and priorities of consumers.

For this study, we visited households whose occupants made significant changes to their homes and behaviors in order to be more environmentally responsible. From simple changes that reduce water consumption to the installation of photovoltaic systems or the use of recycled and salvaged materials, the home has become the vehicle for expressing environmental values for many people in the United States and beyond. This study set out to gain a deep understanding of the domestic practices, values, and priorities that shape these decisions and to determine the role technology plays within them.

We chose to locate this phase of the study (October 2006 to February 2007) in the United States, in large part because the rate of energy consumption in proportion to population makes the U.S. a clear candidate for the development of new technologies that help improve energy efficiency. As the world's largest single energy consumer, the United States is also the largest emitter of carbon dioxide, accounting for 23% of energy-related carbon emissions worldwide [3]. Much of this can be attributed to home energy usage, which can be broken down accordingly: heating/cooling (44%), lighting/appliances (33%), water heating (14%), and refrigeration (9%) [4].

As for selecting regions for this study, www.sustainlane.us recently published (2006) a sustainability ranking of cities, in which Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA consistently rank at the top in all categories (renewable energy use, alternative fuel use, food availability, tap water quality, air quality, walkability, park space, and roadway congestion). In terms of progressive energy and climate change policy, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle were tied for first place, followed by Los Angeles and Albuquerque. Our selection of metro areas for this study roughly follows this ranking:

• Portland, OR (5 households)
• Bend, OR (3 households)
• San Francisco Bay Area, CA (7 households)
• Los Angeles, CA (8 households)
• Santa Barbara, CA (2 households)
• Albuquerque, NM (7 households)
• Taos, NM (3 households)

In these places, we sought participants who expressed commitment to improving the environment by building or retrofitting home functions that minimize negative (and enhance positive) effects on the ecosystem in which the home is situated. In addition, we sought participants who represented a range of diverse living conditions and perspectives on sustainable domestic praxis.

Our analysis is informed by data from these participants, additional interviews we conducted with domain experts, and a critical examination of secondary sources about environmentalism.

Back to Top