Innovating Energy: Creating a Unique and Value-Driven Energy Portal
I designed a dynamic home energy report template with XMpie data integration, enabling seamless, automated customization for thousands of customers. This system provided personalized energy insights at scale, enhancing user engagement and optimizing production efficiency.
The Problem
Innovating the Energy Portal Experience
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The challenge was to create an innovative energy portal that would stand out in a competitive landscape. The goal was to not only integrate the core features already offered by competitors but also to introduce additional intrinsic value for users, making the portal unique and highly functional.
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The energy portal serves as a dashboard where users can access and engage with their home’s energy data, which is collected by their utility provider. It also enables utilities to connect with users directly, encouraging energy reduction behaviors and promoting applicable programs to help users optimize their energy usage.
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Given the presence of multiple program providers, we needed to differentiate this portal by offering features that would not only meet but exceed users’ expectations. By adding unique and valuable features, we aimed to enhance user engagement, promote long-term energy savings, and build a truly user-centric platform.
My Role
Lead Designer, Behavioral Products
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As the Lead Designer for behavioral products, I played a key role in shaping the energy portal from concept to implementation. My responsibilities spanned strategic design, stakeholder collaboration, and hands-on production work in an Agile environment.
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I worked closely with Product Managers, Project Managers, and Engineering Leads to align the portal’s design with both user needs and business objectives. Additionally, I collaborated directly with engineering teams throughout development, ensuring that design decisions translated seamlessly into production.
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My focus was not just on aesthetics but also on behavioral impact, leveraging design to drive user engagement, energy efficiency, and program adoption.
The Research Behind the Program
Collecting and analyzing energy usage data can help identify baseline consumption, peak hours, and—when communicated effectively—influence user behavior toward energy conservation.
Residential energy use accounts for over 20% of annual emissions (Environmental Protection Agency, 2011), making it a prime target for intervention. Utilities have significantly expanded behavioral programs aimed at reducing energy consumption, recognizing their potential to drive efficiency. These programs now represent a major portion of utilities’ first-year energy savings goals. In 2013, the top 10 states most reliant on behavior-based initiatives reported that 13–28% of their total energy savings came from such programs (Opinion Dynamics Corporation & DNV-GL, 2015).
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At their core, behavioral energy programs seek to influence user habits through information delivery. Research shows that real-time feedback and personalized insights are among the most effective ways to drive sustained behavioral change in energy consumption.
Wireframes & Planning
In designing the energy portal, I incorporated several social engagement features, including community challenges, individual tasks with rewards, and data-driven insights showing users the real-world impact of their energy behaviors.
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Gamification and competition have proven to be powerful motivators for behavior change in energy efficiency programs. According to the ACEEE paper "Gamified Energy Efficiency Programs" (Grossberg et al., 2015), users engage in energy-saving competitions not just for rewards, but because the process itself is enjoyable and stimulating.
Research further supports this:
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The act of competing makes activities more engaging and enjoyable (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999).
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Loss aversion can be a strong motivator—people are driven to participate because they don’t want to lose (Haran & Ritov, 2014).
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By incorporating competition-based mechanics, the portal aims to make energy savings interactive, rewarding, and habit-forming, ultimately driving long-term behavioral change.
Design & Prototype Process
When designing the energy portal interface, my focus was on highlighting key data points in a way that was both engaging and easy to understand. Many competitor portals rely on minimalist, white-heavy designs, which can make data feel dry and difficult to interpret. Instead, I aimed to create a visually dynamic product that made energy insights more intuitive and compelling.
For the early release, we prioritized core modules, ensuring the foundation was strong before expanding functionality. I developed high-fidelity prototypes that incorporated ICF’s branded highlight colors, balancing clarity, accessibility, and visual appeal.
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To further enhance user interaction, I planned for dynamic elements that would make the experience more immersive and actionable. These included:
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Interactive data visualizations that help users quickly grasp trends.
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Engaging use of color to differentiate key insights.
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A balance of structure and flexibility to allow for future feature expansion.
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This approach set the stage for a more engaging, user-friendly energy dashboard—one that didn’t just display data but helped users make informed decisions about their energy consumption.
Some of the Research Questions
Are users clicking on items that are not clickable?
What information is the user looking to acquire that may be missing?
Category: Preference
Test type: Explorative
Do users trust the peer comparison?
If we don't include information about who peer group consists of, will users trust the peer comparison data?
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Category: Preference
Test type: Explorative
Does the user understand the cooling disaggregation module as it pertains to the current month?

Category: Cognitive
Test type: Explorative
Do users users value seeing energy consumption data by calendar month or by billing cycle?
Category: Preference
Test type: Comparative
Does the user feel this product has enough intrinsic value to warrant a return visit and continued use?
Category: Behavior
Test type: Explorative
Mobile Interactive Elements
Final Outcome & Impact
The final energy portal successfully integrated data visualization, behavioral insights, and user engagement elements into a dynamic and intuitive platform. By designing with a mobile-first approach, I ensured that users could seamlessly interact with their energy data across devices.
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Key Innovations & Enhancements:
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Mobile-Optimized Interactive Elements – I reimagined key features for smaller screens, ensuring that insights remained clear and actionable.
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Data-Driven Engagement – By incorporating behavioral science principles, I designed features that encouraged energy-saving habits through feedback loops, challenges, and social elements.
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Enhanced Data Visualization – Rather than presenting raw data, I transformed it into digestible, compelling insights that made trends easy to understand.
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Flexible, Scalable Design System – The interface was built to adapt and grow, allowing utilities to customize the experience while maintaining consistency.
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Results & Learnings:
This project demonstrated how thoughtful UX and strategic design can drive real-world impact. By rethinking how energy data is presented and interacted with, I helped create a product that not only informs users but also empowers them to take meaningful action.