Smart Home Thermostat
Switchee
Reducing Energy Bills In Social Housing Through Clever Design
Switchee | Designing A Smart Home Thermostat | Consumer Product | User-Centred Design, Material Science, Interface Design, Design For Manufacture
Designing a smart thermostat system and interface to help housing associations reduce energy use in the home.
The Journey
Realise was approached by Switchee to design a smart thermostat, integrating both lighting and heating control to reduce energy consumption in the home.
Our integrated user-centred design + engineering + electronics approach combined to create a brand-driven design with improved functionality and short return over investment (ROI) for customers.
The Result? A successful product launch for Switchee into a competitive market with a smart thermostat that can promise over 20% reductions in energy consumption.
The Design Challenge
To design a smart thermostat system and interface that works for both landlords and tennants to reduce energy consumption. Using the system had to be intuitive to use and take into account different users heating habits, seamlessly integrating the physical product with digital apps. In addition, the thermostat had to be capable of retrofitting onto exisiting light switch mounting points to improve ease of installation.
Our Design Solutions
Launching a new brand into an already competitive market can be difficult but with our thorough research stage we were able to identify a unique route to market and key features to make the Switchee thermostat system stand out from competitors.
We created a comprehensive visual brand language that could be used across Switchee’s entire product range and included a full graphical interface to compliment the physical products.
The Delivery
The Switchee smart thermostat system is now used by over 100 social housing providers across the UK and the Netherlands. With clever design for manufacture, the product achieved an ambitious price point that provides a short ROI for customers. Most importantly Switchee is now able to help customers reduce their energy consumption and improve the quality of life for people living in rented homes.
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