Proposal and Implementation of a User-Centered Design Approach for Smart Grid Technologies: Example of the VERTPOM® Project

Acting to preserve our planet as much as possible is no longer optional in today's world. To do so, Smart Grids within the framework of electrical networks - involving not only Distribution System Operators (DSOs), but also consumers in their Energy Demand Management (EDM) activity - represent an innovative and sustainable solution. However, the integration of Smart Grids into network management or into consumers' homes implies changes at several levels- organizational, social, psychological, etc. This is why it is essential to consider the human factor in the design of the technologies used in these Smart Grids. This paper proposes the integration of DSO operators and consumers within a user-centered evaluation approach in order to design Smart Grids that are sufficiently acceptable to users to enable Positive Energy Territories that produce more energy than they consume. This demonstration will be illustrated by the VERTPOM® project aiming at facilitating the use of renewable energies specific to each territory in order to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases and make the territories less dependent on traditional energies, and thus make Picardy (in France) a Positive Energy Territory. This paper presents the user-centered evaluation approach applied to three technologies (i.e., the VERTPOM-BANK® supervision tool intended for DSO operators, the private web portal and the IBox smart meter intended for households) from the upstream design phase to the implementation of the technologies in real-life situations.