Innovation in the air
Innovation in the air
CLIENT
Iberdrola Spain
TEAM
2 Product designers, 1 Design Lead, 2 Product Owners
PROCESS
Usability, Benchmarking, Ideation, Wireframing, Prototyping
TIME FRAME
+2 months
Garaje de Ideas for Iberdrola
Aerothermal systems provide heating for homes and hot water, offering long-term savings despite an initial high installation cost. When Iberdrola approached us with the need to sell and manage this kind of systems in houses of people across Spain, we kickstarted a project with a strong design team that went on for more than 2 months, and is still being iterated and evolved to this day.
The product would be the first in its class: not only it would be an innovative way to manage your aerothermal installation in real time from your phone, but also it was the first product available to be fully contracted through the app itself too.
A breath of fresh air.
An aerothermal system is a sustainable climate control solution for homes, using external air energy for heating, cooling, and hot water, reducing CO2 emissions by 70% and being four times more efficient than conventional boilers. However, selling these systems poses a challenge due to their high initial cost and the long-term range for return of investments.
To overcome this, we focused on educating consumers about the environmental and financial advantages over time, simplifying technical explanations, and providing real-life success scenarios to illustrate long-term savings.
Data takes the lead.
During the design phase, focus group sessions were organized with real users to qualitatively assess their perception of aerothermal systems, its benefits, and what they would like to manage through the app. These sessions provided crucial feedback that directly shaped the design decisions.
We identified two user profiles: one seeking ease and automation, the other, technically savvy, desiring full control over their installation. The challenge was to design a product that would benefit both types of users without making their experience either too complicated or over-simplificated.
Installation process, with less process
For new clients, we designed a process for the installation which included a dynamic stepper that updated according to each user’s specific situation within the process. We also introduced cross-selling for a data-consumption tracker device that enhances productivity and automation when managing the aerothermal system and that could be directly installed.
Managing, tracking and using your Aerothermal system.
Once installed, we developed a dashboard with different sections, separated by tabs for easier navigation. My Installation tab allows, users to view real-time efficiency graphs of their aerothermal system and energy flows.
For business it was important to highlight to the client how benefitial the Aerothermal system is. That’s why we designed a Savings tab that communicates the financial benefits of the installation clearly, with marketing-focused messages to emphasize the advantages of Aerothermal solutions.
Consumption in real time. Like, really.
Within the Energy Tab, we created a page where users can both analyze in detail their energy consumption through bar charts, with the ability to filter by date and also get information about the efficiency of their equipment and learn how to improve it.
This allows the user to track their comsumption and efficiency in depth, by date, which makes it easier to make adjustments to waste less energy while saving more money.
Finally, Details Tab allows the user to edit information about the specifics of the installation equipment. This way, data shown in other dashboards will be most accurate.
Data never looked better: charts redesigned.
This project heavily relied on the use of Charts to visually communicate complex data about energy efficiency and savings. To learn more about how we curated and implemented Charts into the design system, please check out the case study on Chart componentization and documentation.
Results are in the air.
With this first steps, Iberdrola is driving the adoption of aerothermal systems to help clients save more while reducing carbon emissions. Learn more below about how our solution really met their business commitment to sustainability and smarter energy use.
Conclusion
This project not only introduced an innovative, sustainable product to clients but also transformed how they will interact with their aerothermal system, making it more accessible, insightful and efficient. By integrating user feedback collected from the focus groups and using our existing design system, we’ve crafted a user-friendly and engaging experience.
What I've learned
The key takeaway was the importance of user-centric design in introducing new technologies. Understanding different user profiles via the focus group sessions allowed us to cater to various needs, ensuring broad acceptance and satisfaction with the new aerothermal offering in the app.
Other projects
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