Watt’s Up? Powering Smart Homes with Data

Every household uses energy—switching on lights, cooking meals, running gadgets—but most of us rarely ask: Where does it all go, and how can we save more? In this project, students become household energy detectives, using real-life data like electricity bills, gas refills, or piped gas usage to track patterns and spot waste. They’ll design simple low-code apps or dashboards to help families budget better, cut costs, and optimize energy use. Along the way, students connect their work to economics concepts like consumption, budgeting, and opportunity cost, while also advancing SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). The challenge is to turn everyday numbers into tools that make homes smarter, greener, and lighter on the wallet.