Plexus
Project overview
Plexus is revolutionizing how homeowners understand and interact with their HVAC unit and home. By integrating sensors in the HVAC system in conjunction with our thermostat, Plexus allows for true connection between homeowners, technicians, and HVAC systems, saving time and reducing costs for everyone.
As interface designer, my primary role in this project was designing the thermostat interface, creating a style guide and design system, and prototyping the interactions. I also helped with market strategy, user research, and user testing.
Maintaining your home can be demanding
Home visits for technicians to repair these issues are standard in the industry, but oftentimes the problem is not diagnosed yet and technicians arrive without needed materials.
The lack of HVAC diagnostics from the homeowner results in service call-backs, financial loss for both parties, and customer dissatisfaction.
As the HVAC industry grows and advances, middle-aged homeowners are in need of a new system that is more efficient, intuitive, and understandable.
The solution
Creating a new understanding with homeowners and their homes
Understanding the HVAC market
Since we tackled a topic that we were unfamiliar with, we did a lot of research into understanding HVAC systems and the market industry.
We learned that in 2022, the global HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) market attained a value of nearly 159 billion dollars (Service Business Evolution). Furthermore, it’s estimated the global HVAC market will grow to 227 billion by 2028.
Gathering user research
We talked to 8 homeowners and 2 technician/engineers, and asked them about their experiences with repairing HVAC systems. From this we were able to identify 3 different opportunity areas.
Narrowing down our target audience
We wanted create a beneficial solution that would save time and money for both the homeowner and technician.
Taking all of our research into consideration, we wanted to focus on 45-60 years old homeowners buying a new home or wanting to install a new, state-of-the-art system, as well as trusted technicians.
Where do we fall?
In comparison to our competitors such as Google Nest and Ecobee, we wanted to go for a modern and clean aesthetic.
We also wanted to create a new understanding with homeowners and their homes, giving them more control over their home maintenance.
Simplifying our idea into an user flow
Visualizing our concept
When first bringing our concepts to life, we created different variations of the prototype and played around with different layouts, shape language, and interactions. At this stage, we were still conceptualizing our thoughts into how we can expand our features even further.
Due to time constraints and the complexity of designing an entire HVAC system, instead we designed an air handler that uses a labelling system to make it easier to identify parts. Inside the air handler, there are built-in sensors that collect data and relay it to the smart thermostat.
Thermostat Prototype
Air Handler 3D Model
Testing our design
We tested 7 different users and conducted 3 rounds of testing utilizing A/B testing, card sorting, and usability testing techniques.
From our multiple rounds of testing, we were able to make constant iterations to our thermostat interface as well as our user flow based off of the user input given.
Style guide
While designing our interface, we made a style guide that helped streamline the development process and ensured a consistent and unified brand identity.
Final design
Project takeaways
We pitched our product with a song!
Storytelling simplifies complex ideas
Storytelling can be helpful in breaking down ideas into understandable scenarios for visualization.
Minimizing touchpoints reduces friction
Making sure that users can access the things they need in fewer steps streamlines the overall experience.
No design is final
Continuous iteration and being adaptable to changes gradually improves the design to fit the user needs.