Project Details
ecoWattch is our team's response to the growing electricity consumption crisis, especially on university campuses. With AI adoption and idle electronics on the rise, NAU alone spends over $15M annually on utilities — a number climbing toward $20M. As students, that affects both our environment and tuition.
Traditional awareness campaigns have fallen short. ecoWattch aims to re-engage students through gamification — pitting dorms against each other in streak-based challenges to reduce energy use. With help from our sponsor OP Ravi (Director of Product Management, Energy Transformation at Willow), we've conceptualized a mobile app that merges data visualization with gamified behavior change.
Dorms compete to reduce usage during "Power Hours," gain leaderboard points, and unlock real-life rewards. Our mission is to make sustainability engaging, competitive, and impactful.
Development Process & Requirements
ecoWattch's mobile app is being built as a standalone Android application, designed for efficiency, scalability, and real-time data feedback. Our technology stack was carefully selected to ensure optimal performance:
Database: Linux based Ubuntu MySQL server hosted at NAU – chosen for its secure, scalable, and fast querying structure that can handle real-time energy data from multiple campus buildings.
Notifications: Local push notification system delivers energy usage alerts, contest updates, and power-hour reminders instantly to keep users engaged and informed.
Gamification Engine: A custom, lightweight point-based system that tracks dorm activity and progress, allowing users to earn and redeem rewards while fostering healthy competition.
UI/UX: Designed to be intuitive, fast, and engaging — built by and for students with a focus on accessibility and user experience across different devices and screen sizes.
We're currently working on a functional MVP with core features like authentication, energy visualizations, notifications, and interactive leaderboards. All technology decisions are driven by feasibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness — our priority is a lightweight, powerful app that's fun to use and encourages real behavior change.