The Focus
Changing up the aesthetics of the Ecolibrium Smartsense product so that it could be differentiated from similar looking infrastructure, given its placement
Engineering the product to be IP65 compliant for a variety of indoor and outdoor applications
Retrofitting the product to overcome functional and aesthetic constraints
The Design
Elephant revamped the entire product to give it a futuristic look & feel, and robust construct, which also increased its durability
Added a casket to enhance functionality, to make it IP compliant
Enhanced the hardware so that the wires could be routed safely, without the danger of the inlet being infiltrated by water and dust particles
Designed such that it could be retrofitted on existing infrastructure without any changes and be accessed without disrupting it during maintenance
The Story
Founded in 2008, Ecolibrium Energy aims to create a truly sustainable, energy rich future in an era where environmental and consumption-based concerns have become immensely important.
Their services and products are IoT-based, and revolve around monitoring, analyzing and optimizing energy consumption for industries. Given that industries, depending on their specific sectors waste over three billion units of power every year – roughly 60 days of average consumption for a city like Delhi – the usability quotient of this device is unparalleled.
Ecolibrium approached Elephant in order to give their flagship product – the Smartsense – a complete design revamp that would firstly improve upon existing aesthetic and functional capabilities. The second purpose was to eliminate current constraints that were already present.
The Smartsense device is typically mounted on the power distribution board inside any industrial environment. Typically, this is full of yet other boxes and compartments. This was the first point of contention – the outer appearance of the box was such that it completely blended in with other, regular electrical components. Thus, the perception of the product was like any other thing – not the hi-tech, intelligent product it actually was.
The second problem was more functional in its scope, namely, that the current design it had wasn’t giving it an IP (Ingress Protection) rating. The ability to retrofit would also enable to use it in current infrastructures, as well as flexibility in its indoor-outdoor usability.
Stiff Defence
Outer enclosure was engineered such that it provided the necessary ingress protection and conformed to IP65 standards. Appropriate hardware that complies with IP65 was used for wire glands and other features exposed to the exterior environment. Polycarbonate shells made it durable and robust.
Ingenious Versatility
As we mentioned earlier, Ecolibrium’s product needs to be attached to a power distribution board. This board may or may not be conveniently & safely situated – but the product decidedly needs to adapt!
The first enhancement was to create the hardware in such a way that eliminates the entry of water and dust particles, which would enable a variety of outdoor-use scenarios. The second enhancement was to make the outer frame puncture friendly. This has extremely desirable effects: For installation, you don’t need to disturb the power distribution boxes in any way – simply punch and install. The same goes for upkeep and maintenance, if any!
2 devices were designed, basic version and the advanced one with built-in controller & display. Both devices shared a similar style language and functional features related to its use.
All in all, Elephant successfully redesigned the Smartsense product by changing up the material – which in turn paved the way for both, aesthetic and functional improvements.
“A good idea is something that does not solve just one single problem, but rather can solve multiple problems at once.”