# A Novel Social Collaboration Platform for Enhancing Energy Awareness

Efstathia Martinopoulou, Asimina Dimara, Anastasia Tsita, Sergio Herrera, Rafael Marin-Perez, Juan Segado, Piero Fraternali, Stelios Krinidis, Christos-Nikolaos Anagnostopoulos, Dimosthenis Ioannidis, et al.

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## To cite this version:

Efstathia Martinopoulou, Asimina Dimara, Anastasia Tsita, Sergio Herrera, Rafael Marin-Perez, et al. A Novel Social Collaboration Platform for Enhancing Energy Awareness. 19th IFIP International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Applications and Innovations (AIAI), Jun 2023, León, Spain. pp.195-206, 10.1007/978-3-031-34171-7_15. [hal-05417769](https://hal-05417769)

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# A Novel Social Collaboration Platform for Enhancing Energy Awareness

Efstathia Martinopoulou¹, Asimina Dimara¹,²✉, Anastasia Tsita¹,
Sergio Luis Herrera Gonzalez³, Rafael Marin-Perez⁴,
Juan Andres Sanchez Segado⁴, Piero Fraternali³, Stelios Krinidis¹,⁵,
Christos-Nikolaos Anagnostopoulos², Dimosthenis Ioannidis¹,
and Dimitrios Tzovaras¹

¹ Information Technologies Institute (ITI), Centre for Research Technology (CERTH), Thessaloniki, Greece
{emartini,adimara,krinidis,djoannid,Dimitrios.Tzovaras}@iti.gr,
a.tsita@ti.gr

² Department of Cultural Technology and Communication, Intelligent Systems Lab, University of the Aegean (UoA), Mytilene, Greece
canag@aegean.gr
³ Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy
{sergioluis.herrera,piero.fraternali}@polimi.it

⁴ Department of Research and Innovation, Odin Solutions, 30009 Murcia, Spain
{rmarin,jasanchez}@odins.es

⁵ Management Science and Technology Department, International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala, Greece

**Abstract.** Building managers and stakeholders should begin establishing cultures and practices that encourage collaborative impact toward energy awareness. In this context, a novel social collaboration platform is suggested provisioning best practices and recommendations for energy-efficient user actions. The platform is equipped with social collaboration tools that will link relevant parties via direct or indirect communication using sound, video, text, and context-aware knowledge. Moreover, it provides support for recommendations, prescriptions, and identification of best practices for proactivity, as well as best practices and proposals for energy efficiency and the well-being of building occupants. Furthermore, the platform provides search functionality that allows quick access to the preferred content regarding the posts and users and also provides filter options for locations and building groups that enhance the scalability of the system.

**Keywords:** Collaboration Platform · Energy awareness · Energy practices

## 1 Introduction

There has never been a more crucial time for a dedicated and global focus on the demand side of the energy equation [1]. Energy efficiency and energy savings are important due to the unpredictability of supply, high prices, and the
pressing climate goals. Governments and European Union (EU) are responding with various actions, such as launching demand-reduction campaigns and creating targeted grants (such as The European Green Deal and Fit for 55) [2]. Energy ministers from around the world met at the IEA's recent 7th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency [3] and declared that all governments, industry, enterprises, and stakeholders should strengthen their action on energy efficiency. They also agreed that demand-side management action and energy efficiency have a particularly important role to play now that global energy prices are high and volatile, hurting households, industries, and entire economies.

Effective marketing can prompt individuals to consume less energy. For instance, some researchers' estimates indicate that residential sector behaviour adjustments might save up to 20% of household energy demand [4]. According to another estimation, a large country like India has the potential to save between 3.4 and 10.2 TWh of energy by 2030 through lifestyle changes [5]. Furthermore, campaigns can have a wide range of effects regarding the energy saved, according to the IEA's 2021 report [6]. Even outside of the current energy crisis, IEA modelling emphasizes the significance of behavioural changes for attaining net zero goals [6].

Nonetheless, individuals and entire companies are unlikely to actively conserve energy or operate in a generally eco-friendly manner unless they are aware of the issue and its consequences. Towards this matter, energy awareness refers to a person's knowledge of energy's nature, production and characteristics as well as their awareness of energy consumption and conservation [7]. Moreover, energy awareness entails being aware of the energy consumption of various home appliances, their efficiency, and how certain activities impact energy use. Many things influence energy awareness like energy usage visibility. Building managers and stakeholders should begin establishing cultures and practices that encourage collaborative impact toward energy awareness. Having ways to track collective impact may meaningfully unite individuals around a common goal to share knowledge and practices, and work together, ultimately unleashing the group's potential at scale and producing real impact.

Within this context, a novel social collaboration platform for enhancing energy awareness (SCOPE) is suggested provisioning best practices and recommendations for energy-efficient user actions. The platform is equipped with social collaboration tools that will link relevant parties via direct or indirect communication using sound, video, text, and context-aware knowledge. Moreover, it provides support for recommendations, prescriptions, and identification of best practices for proactivity, energy efficiency and the well-being of building occupants. Via this social collaboration network, third parties will be able to share ideas and best practices. The platform also includes events and social networking to create communities that foster a more pleasant and connected community environment.

The remainder of the paper is structured as follows: Sect. 2 presents the methodology followed to build the social collaboration platform, including requirements and design approach. Section 3, presents the implementation of the platform and how the requirements are met. Finally, Sect. 4 summarizes the main findings.
# 2 Methodology

## 2.1 Requirements

The SCOPE's defined functional and non-functional criteria are outlined in this section.

The functional requirements addressed are:

- The SCOPE shall adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guidelines for data collection, transmission, processing, and storage included in the EU regulation [8].

- The SCOPE must anonymously track users' pertinent actions while utilizing the application. The platform should keep track of every section users are visiting throughout a session, as well as any actions performed that are pertinent for the analysis of the platform's impact on their behaviour.

- The SCOPE should facilitate stakeholder communication and social engagement so they can exchange knowledge, expertise, and best practices regarding running buildings efficiently.

The Non-functional requirements addressed are:

- The SCOPE interface should be simple to use, and all messages should be easy to understand without using any obscure technical terms. Some of the users could have a medium to high degree of digital literacy. To enhance platform adoption, the user interface must be inviting and the messaging must be understandable.

- SCOPE platform should support Personal Computers (PCS), tablets, and even mobile phones. The platform interface should be responsive and adapt to the different device interaction modes. The platform may be used both at home and on the go. Mobile devices are the best for delivering notifications, while the best way to see charts and data is on tablets or computer monitors.

- The SCOPE must permit secure data flow among its components while protecting user privacy. A security and privacy platform should be used to handle communication with other modules.

## 2.2 Design Approach

It was crucial to develop a generic front-end layout that correlates to a flexible structure and workflow at the backend to construct a scalable, component-based user interface. The SCOPE's current architecture should be able to: (a) support scaling as a system architecture, including the back-end; (b) enable the interface components to accommodate more content and functionalities without "breaking" visually (e.g., affecting the functionality of responsiveness); (c) and without requiring significant changes to the platform's current architecture.

Moreover, the hierarchy of the data management workflow had to be defined in such a way that incorporates all the application functionalities for several pilot testing sites (e.g., various countries) in the same manner. All users, regardless
of the specific characteristics of their pilot, building or residence, should be able to follow the same flow in order to succeed in the same goals using the application. It was also important that for similar actions, a similar flow should be followed by the user, regardless of differences in users' specifications and settings (e.g., different language). High-fidelity prototypes of the user interface (Mock-Ups) were used as the appropriate tool to support the user interface (UI) design process, first to illustrate various ways to implement the preliminary requirements given and explore the possibilities and limitations in a realistic manner.

Primarily, mock-ups enabled direct communication between the individuals involved in the platform's design and development through an iterative approach. The design and development team was able to develop ideas, pinpoint issues or gaps, and come up with questions, insights, and sound proposals based on such a typical and simple design output, which most people are familiar with and can easily understand. As identified issues could be immediately put under validation or consideration for additional research or dialogue among people involved in the social collaboration platform and its dependencies, such a process could also support emerging questions on the system architecture of the platform. The Mock-ups design went through two significant iterations. The general content and the primary user goals were established first. As a result, the hierarchy, menu, and functionalities were divided into pages.

The majority of the elements in terms of content and functionality were established during the initial mock-ups. Emerging concerns were gradually resolved, and a second version of mock-ups was finished by a continuous refinement and brainstorming on specific design visualization (components, navigation, etc.). In this text, they are shown and described. It is crucial to remember that solution could be made as a result of a new set of specific requirements, technical constraints, new insights, etc., even though an effort was made to deliver a complete design that is both adequate and necessary to match the project objectives as well as concrete and clear enough to support the development team. Throughout the platform's front-end development, a few small extra UI design considerations were made.

## 2.3 Architecture Overview

The SCOPE includes several applications that interact with one another and share data over secure, predefined channels. The SCOPE components are divided into groups for the front- and back-end, as well as a selection of tools for interfacing with external applications. The overall SCOPE architecture along with the main components are depicted in Fig. 1. The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is used to send mail to the users (e.g., forgot password process). The firebase CMS is used to facilitate the communication between the mobile version and SCOPE. The SCOPE Data Base (DB) is used to save specifications and dependencies of the SCOPE. The Building Management System (BMS) is used to get energy-saving recommendations for users. The edge device is the gateway for retrieving indoor consumption data.
<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 1. SCOPE Architecture</figcaption></figure>

**Backend Architecture.** As described in Sect. 2.3, the main components that SCOPE communicates with are the Security and Privacy Platform Integration (SPPI), the BMS and the edge to retrieve sensor data. The SCOPE's SPPI platform is a crucial component and provides some of the main functionalities like:

- Identity management, based on Keyrock ID-Manager [9], this component gives an API that allows executing numerous activities needed by the app. It also serves as a secure channel for communication.

- Data storage for current events (Broker FIWARE Orion-LD [10]).

- Archive of previous data (Historical Component [11]).

- A system for user authentication.

- User data access control (authorization with DCapBAC [11]).

One of the most important functionalities is the login process. During the login process, the SCOPE must access the SPPI, namely the Keyrock ID-Manager component, to authenticate the user in the system and retrieve his/her information. Figure 2 depicts how a user logs into the system and retrieves his/her identity information via the SCOPE.

Another important process is the access to real-time and historical data. The SCOPE must communicate with the SPPI to access real-time and historical data. This process is depicted in Fig. 3.
<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 2. SCOPE - Login process data flow</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 3. SCOPE - Data flow from sensors to GUI</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 4. SCOPE - IFML design of the Network and the Chat pages)</figcaption></figure>

**Front-end Architecture.** The frontend architecture describes the principles followed to build both the mobile and web platforms of the SCOPE.

1. Mobile application. A strategy that has gained popularity in recent years for the implementation of the mobile version is used for the SCOPE mobile version. This strategy involved breaking the program down into different parts: web applications with Responsive Web Design (RWD) that handle the business logic and native client applications for each platform that wrapped the web applications and provided access to all native features.

2. Web application. The design of the SCOPE is going to be presented in Sect. 3. Indicatively, a user interaction of the SCOPE using Interaction Flow Modelling Language (IFML) will be presented. Figure 4 depicts the IFML design of the Network and the Chat pages.

## 3 Implementation

In this section, the implementation of the SCOPE will be presented. The main dashboard (login page) is depicted in Fig. 5. From this page, users may log in and then navigate to the main menu.
<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 5. The Login Page</figcaption></figure>

The main menu is depicted in Fig. 6. The main dashboards of the social collaboration platform are Network, Chat, DIY tutorials, News and events, Notifications, My Account, and the About page.

## 3.1 Platform Sections and User Interfaces

**Newsfeed.** The NewsFeed page (Fig. 7) is the main page of the SCOPE platform that enables the transfer of knowledge and energy-related content between end users. The fundamental components of this page are the posts that allow the exchange of content, namely text, links, images, and/or videos under predefined energy-related topics. All users can respond to a post with remarks or show appreciation and can report a user if a post or message is deemed improper. The number of votes and replies for each post should be evident to all users, enabling the traceability of more accepted posts and encouraging the adoption of energy-effective solutions in terms of household energy. Furthermore, the SCOPE provides search functionality that allows quick access to the preferred content regarding the posts and users and also provides filter options regarding countries and building groups that enhance the scalability of the system. Sorting by the number of votes permits the more pronounced content to be presented in front, thus encouraging the participation and involvement of end users.

**Network.** The network page stores user accounts from all application pilot sites and allows them to connect. Users can utilize the search functionality or filter options to navigate through the network accounts or search for specific users. To ensure that no private information is visible to non-appropriate users, the only information available for each user is the username and the country. Before proceeding with a connection request, the user can examine the connection candidate's newsfeed activity to ensure that they share similar interests. By accepting a connection invitation, the connected users can start communicating with each other by enabling one-to-one private conversations. In the UI design, the network page is divided into the following tabs to facilitate navigation: (i) Search; (ii) My Connections; and (iii) Connection Invitations.
<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 6. The SCOPE menu</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_10.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 7. SCOPE- Newsfeed Page</figcaption></figure>

**Do It Yourself (DIY).** The DIY (Fig. 9) page provides educational material and is managed by the system administrator. The content here can be videos or instructions that provide guidance for hardware or software equipment, e.g., sensor placement, installation, and troubleshooting. This page inherits properties from the Newsfeed page, and each post can be related to an energy tag describing the post content. Apart from the energy tag, a post includes a title, a description, and complementary content such as videos and images.

**News and Events.** The News & Events page contains posts about actions taken by the Administration team, including newsletters and upcoming events. Each post is created by the administrator and is visible to all users. It consists
<figure><img src="image_11.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 8. SCOPE- Network</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_12.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 9. SCOPE- DIY Tutorials</figcaption></figure>

of a title, a mini-description, full-context text, images, and associated tags that enhance searchability.

**Notifications.** Notifications are automated messages that are produced by the system and inform users about their activity and the outcome of their actions. On this page, a smart table stores the notification history in chronological order, as well as the person who triggered the alert. The notifications include alerts generated by the chat page when a new message arrives at a chatroom, the network when a user accepts a connection request or notifications from the Administration team about newly posted items. Apart from the above, the user can sort the notifications by date, message, or user and mark some notifications as unread to further examine them at a later time. The most recent notifications are also presented through a fixed shortcut in the header to keep users informed.

**Chat.** The SCOPE also supports a chat module (Fig. 10) that allows either private one-to-one conversations or group chats among users. By default, each registered user will be enrolled in a predetermined group chat created for the pilot to which he or she belongs. More specifically, users of the same pilot are typically confronted with similar climate conditions; hence, there is an interplay among them and sharing practices that best suit them. Along with group chats, each user can initiate a one-to-one conversation with another user only if they have established a connection. The supported forms of messaging comprise text (images, video, and text). To enhance the protection of users in the SCOPE, each user can report a message if the content is regarded as abusive.
<figure><img src="image_13.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 10. SCOPE- Chat</figcaption></figure>

**My Account.** My account page provides information about the logged-in user, including the username, an optional profile picture that will be visible to network users, and building information, namely the country, pilot, building, and group the user belongs to. Apart from the profile picture and password, the other information can only be changed by the system administrator at the user's request.

**About.** The about page is a welcoming page that contains content about the Precept project, under which SCOPE has been developed.

## 3.2 Energy Awareness Tabs

Energy awareness tags (Fig. 11) are predefined tags that allow users to categorise content more effectively. The initial setup includes the following categories: (i) Precept System; (ii) Energy Savings; (iii) Comfort Levels; (iv) Energy Efficiency; (v) Proactiveness; which are depicted in Fig. 11, and can be expanded by the administrator by adding new categories. Hence, only energy-related content will be posted in the SCOPE, and energy tags will serve as quick filtering options.

As a result, to restrict the content to being energy-related, users must tag their posts with the above topics before making them public. More specifically, the content associated with the “comfort levels” tag will provide discussions about techniques that increase comfort levels and well-being, as well as allow users to share information about specific building characteristics such as humidity, temperature levels, air quality, etc. Using the energy savings tag, methods, and recommendations for reducing costs will be returned. In the energy efficiency tag, users will discuss alternative energy-efficient solutions and equipment to perform household tasks. In the proactiveness tag, smart solutions and prescriptions will be displayed. Along with the above, posts from the Precept system will be filtered to allow quick access to content posted by the system administrator.

Furthermore, by exploiting the BMS system and monitoring data, posts will be shown to the user with average consumption encouraging them to consume less energy. Within the same perspective, general energy recommendations and prescriptions will be pushed to the users at the notifications tab.
<figure><img src="image_14.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 11. Energy Tags</figcaption></figure>

## 4 Conclusions

To summarise, a novel social and collaboration platform has been developed to enhance energy awareness and buildings' proactiveness. A set of developed tools allows the dissemination of knowledge and practices towards effective energy management. Collaborative environments, the grouping of individuals that share the same needs, and the formation of social bonds can improve energy engagement as well as provide first-hand knowledge about energy. In future work, the system will be further evaluated to quantify acceptance measures through pilot production and questionnaires.

**Acknowledgements.** This work is partially supported by the PRECEPT project funded by the EU H2020 under Grant Agreement No. 958284.

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