Power Consumption vs. User Convenience: Evaluating the Trade-Offs of Smart Features in Smart Home Devices

Objective:

This Bachelor’s thesis aims to evaluate the trade-offs between energy consumption and user convenience when smart home devices are used with vs. without their “smart” features. The research will be based on a diverse set of devices owned by the research group — including smart bulbs, door locks, smoke detectors, kitchen appliances, irrigation systems, and more — from various vendors. The goal is to quantify any additional energy usage caused by enabling smart functionality and to assess the corresponding improvements (if any) in user experience.

Potential Work Packages (not exhaustive):

• Device selection and categorization – choose representative devices from different categories and document their smart capabilities
• Measurement setup – define a method for measuring power consumption in both “smart” and “non-smart” modes (e.g., using power meters, logging tools)
• Data collection – record energy usage over a defined period under controlled and comparable usage patterns
• Convenience assessment – identify and document the added user value of smart features (e.g., remote control, automation, notifications)
• Analysis and comparison – evaluate the trade-offs between increased power consumption and improved convenience for each device category
• Documentation of findings – summarize results in a clear and structured format, highlighting patterns, outliers, and general trends

Optional Extensions (depending on time and interest):

• Develop a scoring model to quantify the cost-benefit ratio of smart features
• Conduct a small user survey or structured interviews to better capture perceived convenience
• Explore potential optimizations, such as scheduling, eco modes, or partial feature usage to reduce power draw
• Extend the study to include standby vs. active modes or compare cloud-connected vs. locally-controlled devices

Note:

This topic is well-suited for students with an interest in IT security, embedded systems, and networked devices in real-world use cases. It is strongly recommended that students have prior experience with networking and embedded systems — for example, through successful completion of courses such as Embedded Systems Architecture. Basic familiarity with system-level analysis and protocol behavior will be beneficial. If you’re interested, please get in touch via e-mail to schedule a meeting where we can discuss the topic in more detail and align on the scope.