Mizen - Information Systems

Appliance Guide Exhibit

Appliances purchased within the past 2 years are more energy efficient than their counterparts produced 10 years ago. WHY?

In a section of The Power House devoted to energy use and the future a special area was developed about appliance energy consumption, The target audience was both teens and adults.

Approach

In coordination with The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers(AHAM) and Frigidaire Corporation provide 3-5 minute explanations of how energy efficiency is accomplished in modern appliances. The attract loop is a 1983 style kitchen transforming to a modern kitchen as shown above. This interface then is the jump point to discussions about how refrigerators, air conditioners, cooktops, dishwashers, washer/dryers use energy. In particular each appliance's energy consumption as tracked by AHAM is presented over the past ten years.

Use QuickTime technology from VHS source tapes and achieve the best compressions to deliver smooth digital video movies.

Lessons Learned

Thousands of colors as opposed to 256 provided a better visual presentation. QuickTime compression is a trade off of file size and performance against quality. In the hands of experts VHS source material can be successfully be transformed to good quality digital video segments that enhance the presentation.

AIFF sound format provides the richest quality through small inexpensive speakers mounted as part of the 17 inch touch screen monitors.