Understanding conflict between landlords and tenants: implications for energy sensing and feedback

Energy use in the home is a topic of increasing interest and concern, and one on which technology can have a significant impact. However, existing work typically focuses on moderately affluent homeowners who have relative autonomy with respect to their home, or does not address socio-economic status, class, and other related issues. For the 30% of the U.S. population who rent their homes, many key decisions regarding energy use must be negotiated with a landlord. Because energy use impacts the bottom line of both landlords and tenants, this can be a source of conflict in the landlord/tenant relationship. Ubicomp technologies for reducing energy use in rental units must engage with landlord/tenant conflicts to be successful. Unfortunately, little detailed knowledge is available about the impact of landlord/tenant conflicts on energy use. We present an analysis of a series of qualitative studies with landlords and tenants. We argue that a consideration of multiple stakeholders, and the ...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2010
• Where: HUC
• Authors: Tawanna Dillahunt, Jennifer Mankoff, Eric Paulos
• Keywords: Decisions Regarding Energy, Energy Use, HUC 2010, Human Computer Interaction, Landlord/tenant Conflicts