Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) recently opened its new regional office in Stockton CA featuring a full-sized Zero Net Energy (ZNE) Home display. PG&E engaged two innovative companies – Leviathan and Luci Creative, both based in the Chicago area – to design and implement advanced interactive aspects that take the ZNE Home’s educational aspects to new heights. By allowing visitors to see exactly how it all works together, PG&E reports that its first-of-its-kind ZNE Home is already providing tremendous value in engaging and educating the public. With Luci Creative leading the strategy and design, specialized creative agency Leviathan partnered to bring the communications design to life.
“We immediately saw the educational, energy conservation aspect of this exhibit as a great chance to align ourselves with the ZNE curriculum and California’s long-term energy goals,” says Jason White, Leviathan’s executive creative director.
The primary interactive components are: The Virtual Tour, an iPad-based augmented reality experience that, by using iBeacons and location tracking, automatically presents relevant ZNE content throughout every room; the Digital Dashboard, an 84″ high-resolution touchscreen that compares the comprehensive results and benefits of ZNE conservation methods to those of a typical home built in 2005; and full system design and engineering, including integrated content management and hardware integration. “We’ve always focused on creating rich content for physical environments,” said Leviathan’s president Chad Hutson. “PG&E’s Zero Net Energy Home is a powerful demonstration that translates complex and diverse interactivity into experiences that are highly engaging and educational for people of all ages.”
