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ABSTRACT
 
Nowadays ecosustainability has become avery relevant matter for humanity. We, asdesigners, have tried to approach to thisissue in a new way. In general, our projectgoal has not been to provide quantitativedata but to sensitize people and make them
reect about their domestic energetic con
-sumption. REFLECT is our answer: it shiftsthe focus of the users towards the conse-quences of their ordinary behaviour. Doingit we want to change users’ beliefs and atti-tudes and to offer a new view of the world.
PROBLEM
Our need for energy comes from all thethings we feel that lives can’t conti-nue without them -- our fridges, micro-waves, air conditioning use up 60 per-cent of a household’s energy needs.Home appliances are now the fa-stest-growing consumers of energy
 
in the world, after cars, accordingto the WorldWatch Institute -- al-though houses overall emit moreIn developed countries, home ap-pliances generally account for 30 per-cent of all electricity consumed,,emitting 12 percent of globalgre-enhouse gases in the process.Home appliances are now the fastest-growing, heating systems and dishwashers.But mostly, it’s our heating and cooling sy-stems, which growing consumers of ener-gy in the world, after cars, according to theWorldWatch Institute -- although housesoverall emit more greenhouse gases thancars. In developed countries, home applian-ces generally account for 30 percent of allelectricity consumed, emitting 12 percentof global greenhouse gases in the process.
 
Winter heating is responsible for sendingnearly four tons of greenhouse gases intothe air each month, and that as much as half 
 Antonio Dell’Ava, Simona Avolio, Chiara Artini,Simona Conti, Stefano Paolessi, Letizia Vaccarella, Sara Traversari 
 
of all the energy used in the home is wasted.It turns out that our homes gobble up 25 per-cent of the world’s energy and are to thank for19 percent of global greenhouse gasemissions (that’s 4,400 million metrictons of carbon dioxide, or CO2). Further-more it’s estimated you can drop yourthermostat 2 degrees, and it will save 8percent off your heating bill if you heat.A stend-by TV for 20 hours, wastes,about 22KW/h per year. If we multiplythese 22 KW/h, consumed per year, bythe TVs number we obtain 660 GW/h!More than 660 billions of watt/h, are fritte-red away every year to power a householdappliance (turned off) such as the TV. Inevery house there are also others electricdevices that consume electricity in stand by.The indicative 660 Gwatt, have tobe in turn multiplied by three or
four (ex. microwaves oven, hi-,
DVD player, computer, and so on...).Recent studies in Germany have quan-
tied that the energy waste, caused by
stand-by appliances is about 20TW/h, is to say 20.000 Gwatt/h.1 200 000 000 people haven’t di-rect access to the use of water, 2000 000 000 people are thirsty.- from an ordinary tap leaks 10 liters of water every minute- from an ordinary shower leaks 20 litersof water every minutesFurthermore…- 1 liter of cold water costs 0,00052 euro- 1 liter of hot water costs 0,0052 euroA 10 minutes shower (200 liters of hotwater) costs 1,04 euro, while a opentap for 10 minutes costs 0,52 euros.Wa-shing your hands with hot or cold wa-ter takes about 17 seconds, that me-ans a consumption of 3 liters of water.
 
If we try to add and multiply all the-se ciphers we can easily under-stand the importance of every sin-gle action we make in our ordinary life.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
ONE-SENTENCE-DESIGN 
 To create a domestic tool able to re-
ect the state of the world and to sti
-multate a sentitive thinking and an acti-ve responsible, sustainable behaviour.This project has arisen from the aware-ness that a mishandle consumption of electricity, water and gas in the domesticenvironment is often caused by the lack
of an appropriate tool. This is Reect.
WHY REFLECT? 
 
Reect is a set of three modular de
-
vices, formed by a reecting surfa
-ce, that pervade the living space:
- Reect HYDRA is an interactive mir
-ror placed in the bathroom to measurethe consumption of water in the house.
- Reect PYRUS/HELIOS/HEPHAESTUS is an
interactive board ( such as the memoboardsto list things such those used to list thingsto buy or to do) to place into the kitchenspace (integrated on refrigerator’s surface)that will indicate the domestic heating use.
- Reect ELECTRA is an interactive cof 
-fee table created mainly for the sit-ting room. Its purpose is to informthe user about the electricity waste.
Reect means both two things: Reect likeponder, consider and Reect like mirror.
on a polished surface that forms images
by reecting light. The ambiguity and the
semantic richness of this word perfectlydescribe and symbolize the project aim.The surplus value that make REFLECTmore than a simple mirrors’ set is thateach mirroring surface can commu-nicate the consumption status of wa-ter, electricity and gas in the house, ina veiled and aesthetically pleasant way.REFLECT’s aim is to create a continuous,emotional and responsible dialogue betwe-en the domestic habitat and its inhabitantsand to stimulate a sensitive thinking aboutresponsible consumption, energy savingand environmentally sustainable behaviour.We know that there are many devices thatprovides quantitative data about ener-getic consumption, but they are unuse-ful untill we don’t care about them. Re-
ect want to focus users attention on
environmental results of their actions inorder to change their beliefs. Finally RE-FLECT is not about knowing, is about fe-eling, it “makes the visible invisible, and
the invisible visible” (Adam Greeneld).
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