Exploiting Data Monitoring and Augmented Reality to Foster Customer Service in Domestic Wind Energy Adoption

This work investigates the application of Augmented Reality (AR) in assisting industrial companies in facilitating the adoption of vertical-axis wind turbines for domestic use. Despite its growth, high upfront costs limit broader wind turbine adoption, especially in urban areas. AR is an emerging technology that can enhance the spread of renewable energy. In the wind energy sector, it is frequently integrated with data monitoring to support the decision-making process. In the literature, many studies address this topic, focusing primarily on improving performance in industry rather than evaluating application usability and user experience. Therefore, our study intends to explore an AR application's usability and user experience integrated with data monitoring to create customer service in the wind energy sector. We developed an application targeted to potential customers planning to adopt wind power to produce electricity within their homes. The aim is to encourage the spread of this renewable energy in an urban setting by facilitating the choice of the most suitable wind turbine based on the local weather conditions and the needs of the individual. To achieve this goal, specifically, we paid significant attention to data visualization, including the estimated power output of the chosen turbine, to better engage the user through customizable graphs rather than traditional textual information. We evaluated the usability and user experience of the implemented application through a user study involving 10 potential buyers of a wind turbine to be installed in their property. The results reveal that the usability is “excellent” with a positive user experience evaluation, especially in attractiveness and novelty. Thus, our proposal turns out to be promising in creating customer service in the wind energy sector and other branches of renewable energy, such as solar-powered systems.