Plugg-out — Akshat Sharma

Most households pay for electricity they never use. Standby “vampire power” quietly drains energy from idle appliances — invisible, unglamorous, and surprisingly expensive at scale. Plugg-out is a service that makes that invisible loss visible, then uses feedback loops and behavior-changing interactions to help people actually act on it.

We built it over five months for the Student Service Design Challenge, competing against 150 international teams. It reached the 8 global finalists and won first place.

1st

of 150 international teams, IKEA Service Design Challenge 2024

Top 8

global finalists before the winning pitch

5 mo

from problem framing to tested service concept

Plugg-out concept: the smart plug product and companion app screens — The concept — a smart plug and companion app that turn invisible standby drain into visible, gamified feedback.

01 — Identifying the problem

Vampire power is a hidden-consumption problem: nobody sees it, so nobody owns it. We framed the opportunity around urban Delhi households — how might we help ecologically and economically conscious people recognize, manage, and reduce vampire energy consumption at home?

Infographic on vampire power consumption in the Indian context — Vampire power in the Indian context — the scale of the hidden loss.

Opportunity statement and expected impact board — From problem to opportunity statement — and the impact we were designing for.

Phase 1 walkthrough — identifying the problem.

02 — Research & insights

We researched the biggest vampire-power culprits and the policy landscape around standby consumption, then engaged households directly to understand the behaviors behind the waste — what people knew, what they ignored, and where the friction to acting actually sat.

Phase 2 walkthrough — research & insights.

Phase 2 — Research & InsightsPDF deck

Stakeholder map of everyone involved in vampire power consumption — Mapping the whole system — everyone with a stake in household energy behaviour.

Root-cause and consumer-behaviour analysis board — Root-cause analysis — tracing the behaviour behind the waste.

03 — A user-centric approach

Personas and journey maps grounded the service in real motivations and pain points. The key shift: treating energy waste not as an information problem (“people don’t know”) but as a feedback problem (“people never see the meter move”).

Persona and target-group board grounded in Delhi household research — Grounding the service in a real persona and target group.

Phase 3 walkthrough — a user-centric approach.

04 — Ideation & service development

We refined the service through structured ideation, validated it with surveys and expert consultation, and mapped the full operation — frontstage interactions, backstage logistics, and the business model that makes it viable.

Phase 4 walkthrough — ideation & service development.

Plugg-out service flow across touchpoints, with future prospects and benefits — The service flow — how Plugg-out works across touchpoints, from discovery to ongoing behaviour change.

What the jury said

The jury appreciated the solution’s simplicity and practicality as a tool for promoting sustainable behavior — highlighting its potential environmental impact through accessible, implementable design.

What this project proves

Service design is at its best when it changes what people do, not just what they see. Plugg-out taught me to design feedback loops before interfaces — and to defend a service concept end-to-end, from household behavior to business model, in front of an international jury.