This app will serve to provide data and support to residential homeowners, commercial and residential landlords, business owners, and utility companies in four different northern lower Michigan municipalities. The data collected through this app will allow consumers of Utility companies to better understand their options in utilizing renewable energy sources, as well as what benefits there are in doing so. The utility companies will be able to use the data provided to determine where they should allocate their future funding and endeavors in renewable energy to ensure the highest level of efficiency and cost effectiveness.
Due to the affluent area that these municipalities are in, we expect the age demographic of the above three user groups to be generally the same, mid age (35) and higher. Their expertise with technology will vary, but their access to technology and ability to gain access to technology will both be high. Due to this large variability in age, it may be worthwhile to consider looking at interfaces for both web and mobile app viewing so ensure accessibility is at an elevated level for people who may not utilize smart phones or prefer the use of a pc. These user groups will possess the ability to afford investigating renewable energy resources within their homes and business establishments, some of them may already be investigating these options. These users may also prefer to have their survey questions broken down into smaller chunks of 3-5 questions to ensure they do not get bored or distracted during their time taking the survey. These smaller chunks of questions also allow for app stakeholders to ensure that data is usable, even if other chunks of questions do not get answered. The area these municipalities are located in have a lot of outdoor activities and picturesque scenery, it may be beneficial to emulate earth tone colors into the app design to bring a simplistic and natural atmosphere to these users while using the app.
Homeowners would like to save money and better understand what benefits are available to them from their utilities as well as gain information on additional endeavors to explore for renewable energy.
Commercial & Residential LandlordsLandlords would like an easy interface to better understand options that can save them money and potentially reduce their environmental footprint at the same time.
Business ownersBusiness owners want to ensure that they are practicing environmentally responsible actions when it comes to powering their business and help reduce costs.
Utility Companies (Stakeholder)Utility companies need data to ensure that they are accurately allocating funding to appropriate renewable energy sources and ensure that they are allocations that their consumers are interested in.