Research Method: Electricity Consumption

Chapter 3: Research Method
Assumptions
In any research, there are always assumptions, which refer to things generally accepted as tru or plausible. In the assessment of electricity consumption in households, one of the common assumptions that researchers are likely to make is that the IoT devices do not consume any power during their operational process. Instead, the gadgets forming the smart system also consume a significant amount of electricity, which may not be accounted for in the computation of the amount of electricity produced. Irrespective of how neglible the devices consume the electricity, this consumption should also be incorporated in determining the amount of telectricity consumed within the households. Both the technology apparatus and the networks rely on electricity to transmit information and hence the need to incorporate their consumption in determining the actual amount of electricity consumed.
Another assumption is that all the devices function in the same way and operate efficiently. The installation process is likely to face human errors that may lead to different operating efficiencies among the tools set up in the same way. Incidents such as short circuits or any other unwarranted power interruptions may interfere with the data collection process because the affected houses will be unable to provide the correct readings in the specified period as there will be no usage of the electricity. While such interruptions are less common, it will be important to incorporate appropriate measures to reduce the probability of such incidents from occurring. The researchers will strive to ensure that those houses that experience such incidents are noted down and granted more time to recover any time in electricity usage that may have been lost.
Thirdly, the researchers will assume that the participants will actively engage in monitoring their consumption patterns and adhering to the directives to switch off their power whenever they are not using it. Previous studies about smart technology users indicated that low-income families had problems in monitoring their electricity consumption among other smart technology processes. Resources such as water usage may not be accurately estimated as there is a propensity of the users to forget to take the measurements.
The research will also assume that there will be no changes in the family composition because any slight changes in the family settings, such as the number of people of family members within a household may affect the garbage collection procedure. Secondly, it would also be difficult for some of the users to strictly abide by the specifications. It is, therefore, important to ensure that the standard conditions are observed. This study will assume any slight variations in consumption patterns that will not interfere with the data collection process.
Finally, the researchers will assume that all the independent variables at the beginning of the experiment will operate in accordance with the expectations of the research. It is expected that there will be no interference with the general water and electricity consumption. The number of individuals within a homestead at the beginning of the experiment will remain the same as the experiment progresses. Similarly, there will be know disruptions in power or electricity supply in the course of the research. The researcher will also assume that any small appliances added to the homestead, such as a radio, will not interfere with the overall results of the study. In the same breadth, the research will also assume that the usage patterns of the participants will not be hampered by the desire to post better results for the sake of the experiment but instead to remain as natural as possible.
Limitations
A key limitation of the study is the poor energy capacity of the devices to be used. Most of the IoT devices available have poor energy capacity. Consequently, they cannot store enough charge to last th...