New：Do well to dwell well. Awareness as the driver for the behaviour of tomorrow’s citizens

According to a report from the United Nations (UN), more than 55% of the world’s population live in cities, consuming 75% of the planet’s energy and producing 80% of CO2-related emissions [16]. Besides, it is expected that the global urban population will continue to rise. 

So, the user’s involvement in housing management, as a crucial actor for home energy use, is one of the more important aspects of the Solar Decathlon Competition. In addition to the above mentioned issue concerning inhabitants’ awareness and consequent lower consumption, social involvement represents another aspect of this approach. Indeed, a part of the data collected in the houses can be shared in a local network that is accessible by housing dwellers so that the comparison between comfort/consumption data of the single units might encourage energy saving thanks to a virtuous game engaged in by the housing community. 
 

Aside from energy costs, it is also helpful to consider energy availability, which is not always, and in every situation, limitless. In Solar Decathlon 2014, for example, the solar houses had to manage daily tasks using a 5 kWp photovoltaic field: the scarcity of energy forces the user to learn how to better manage the available supply, teaching the importance of a single watt.

Precisely considering the reduced availability of energy, the main purpose of a house management system like Dwell! was to educate the inhabitant not only about how to manage energy consciously and intelligently, but above all not to waste it.