Since the AURORA app’s launch in September 2023, we have seen impressive growth in user engagement and energy consumption tracking. In the last six months, AURORA has expanded its user base and introduced significant updates to improve accuracy and usability across our Android, iOS, and web apps. This ongoing evolution highlights AURORA’s commitment to empowering citizens to take control of their energy use and reduce carbon emissions.
Strong Growth and Engagement
Currently, the AURORA app has been downloaded 1,174 times, with 596 downloads on Android and 578 on iOS. With 840 active user accounts, our community continues to grow, representing citizens from five demo sites and other regions across Europe. Almost 60 thousand consumptions have been entered by our users to date, including 284 entries for heating, 637 for electricity, and 58,900 for transportation.
Transportation remains the largest area of consumption recorded, reflecting the wide range of commuting and travel habits tracked by our users.
Achieving Low Emissions: A Community Milestone
Many AURORA users continue to achieve A and A+ labels, particularly in the categories of electricity and transportation. While the user base might lean towards more eco-conscious individuals – many of whom were introduced to the app during climate awareness events – the data shows that near-zero emissions are within reach for all demo sites. However, challenges remain for specific groups, such as students with limited financial resources, who may find it harder to adopt energy-efficient technologies.
Why Tracking Data Matters
The availability of easy-to-access electricity data has made this sector more straightforward for users to monitor, which is why it tends to align with national averages. However, tracking heating and transportation remains more complex. In regions like Aarhus, where district heating is common, users may lack transparency on how their heating is produced, especially if they receive bills as a lump sum from landlords every year. Similarly, transportation data has proven to be highly diverse, with users reporting a wide range of transportation types – further illustrating the need for detailed, personalised energy tracking.
Solar Power and Emissions Reduction
AURORA users who generate electricity from home solar panels continue to show lower CO2 emissions in the electricity sector. The recent update to the app, which includes an “export to grid” option for home photovoltaics, has expanded the ability for users to accurately track their contributions to renewable energy.
Transportation Trends and Challenges
As the largest contributor to our dataset, transportation continues to be an area of focus for AURORA. The wide variety of transportation methods used by citizens – from electric cars and bikes to fuel-powered vehicles – has resulted in a diverse dataset. Our analysis shows that public transportation options, such as hybrid buses and electric trains, are gaining traction, but fuel cars still dominate the carbon emission output.
Recent updates have enhanced the transportation tracking experience, with the addition of plane travel options and custom fuel consumption tracking. These features offer users greater flexibility in recording their journeys and improve the accuracy of their carbon footprint calculations.
Looking Ahead: A Growing Community
As AURORA’s user base continues to grow, we are gaining a clearer picture of how citizens across Europe are consuming energy and where improvements can be made. This data will help us develop targeted solutions that empower users to make smarter energy choices. Additionally, we are preparing to launch further updates that will include automated recommendations and gamification features to further engage users and promote sustainable behaviour.
If you haven’t yet, we encourage you to try the AURORA app for yourself. Help us grow this community, track your energy consumption, and contribute to a more sustainable future.
Want to know more? Explore our interactive dashboard and dive into the data.
