ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how mental models at the system level affect the strategies adopted at the device level, even when the same feedback 'shared theory' of a home-heating thermostat is held by householders. It investigates three households known to hold a 'feedback shared theory' of the home heating thermostat at the 'device' level. First, the households are compared in terms of their energy consumption over a single week. The thermostat adjustment patterns for that week are examined to further understand the consumption. Next, the householders' self-reported typical adjustment 'strategy' with the home-heating controls will be used to help explain the patterns. Finally, the users' mental model description of home heating at a 'system' level will be examined to explain the strategy chosen. The implication for technology and energy-saving advice is to promote in the householders a 'systems view' of home-heating control.
