The Dutch energy system is in transition. As the share of solar energy increases and net metering stops in 2027, households are being called upon to play a more active role in managing their own energy. Yet most current solutions are built around technology, not the people using them.

This thesis explores how design can help bridge that gap by guiding households in using their home battery more intelligently, aligning personal goals with system needs.

Conducted in collaboration with Vattenfall, this graduation project investigated how a behavioural, user-centred approach could transform the home battery from a technical product into an adaptive energy system.

Through extensive research across system, household, and user levels, the main barriers in the home battery journey were identified. The project then zoomed in on the use phase. Four key barriers emerged: the energy system does not speak the user’s language, fails to become part of daily routines, offers unactionable information, and treats all users the same. These four barriers shaped the core design challenge.

To address this, the concept is grounded in behavioural design. The Fogg Behaviour Model, the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change (TTM), and the HOOK model were used to structure a strategic approach to behaviour change. Central to this is the behaviour loop; a cycle of trigger, action, feedback, and reinforcement, which served as both the lens and backbone for concept development.

Through interviews, behavioural mapping, and system-level analysis, the central opportunity was identified: to create a smart, adaptive digital layer around the battery that supports more conscious energy behaviour over time.

The outcome is Loop: a household-centred energy system that learns from the family, adapts to their situation, and motivates smart energy action through personalised feedback and stimulation. Two core system components were developed in detail:
1. The onboarding and learning system, which helps Loop tailor its guidance to each household
2. The motivation system, which reinforces helpful behaviour through feedback and stimulation.

The concept was refined through iterative sessions with Dutch families, internal Vattenfall stakeholders, and behavioural scientist Dr. BJ Fogg. The resulting system balances personalisation with clarity and aims to lower the threshold for smart energy assets in the home both now and in the future.

Loop is designed not only as a proposition for today’s battery users, but as a scalable logic for smart energy behaviour across different user segments, assets, and contract types.

This report, titled Expanding Puerto Rawson: Enhancing Fishery Capacity and Project Cargo Logistics, presents a conceptual masterplan for the eco-friendly expansion of the Port of Rawson. The port’s proximity to a region abundant in marine resources makes it an attractive location for expansion. However, the port is facing strategic expansion problems and it could fail to accommodate the rise in demand from the fishery industry. This report carefully maps out the gap between the expected rise in demand and the currently existing infrastructure. After that, two models are created to transform the rise in demand that is expected by 2030 & 2040, to nautical demands for the port, like number of berths and required waterway width. The results from these model in combination with a strategic overview of the landscape, were used to come up with three conceptual designs that eventually converged into one final conceptual design by conducting an MCA. This conceptual design, together with the port waste management plan, could enable an eco-friendly and future-ready expansion of the Port of Rawson.