The UX of everyday objects: rechargeable fans
A case study
If you live in Nigeria, where electricity is not constant, you’re probably familiar with rechargeable fans. In my house, we have 2 different models — from the same manufacturer — and they both have the same issues when it comes to the user experience.
For context, in this article, when it is mentioned that the fan is on, it means that the system is on even if the fan is not active (rotating)
Here are some of the issues I have discovered alongside the usability heuristic that has been violated:
Match between system and the real world
When the battery is dead, the whole system does not go off. Only the lamp and/or fan (whichever was on when the battery died) go off. This is further complicated by the fact that the power indicator also goes off, so it is not clear to the user that the system is still on, even though the battery is depleted. So, if it is plugged in to charge when electricity is restored, both the power indicator and the charge indicator come on. It is on (even though neither the fan itself nor the lamp are active) and charging at the same time.
Consistency and standards
When the fan is charging, the charge indicator moves from red to amber to green, so the user has an idea of how far along charging is going. However, this is not the case when it is on or active. The system is not consistent: as long as the fan is on, whether it is active or not, almost dead or completely full, the power indicator stays green.
Visibility of system status
When the fan is on or active, the power indicator is green throughout. So, the user has no idea how far along the battery is gone or how much time the fan can stay active for.
Recognition rather than recall & Error prevention
As seen in the image above, the power indicator and the charge indicator are very close to each other. This creates a problem when the device is full, especially in light of the issues described above.
If the fan is on, the power indicator is green. If it is plugged in, the charge indicator could be red, amber, or green depending on how much it has charged. This means that it is possible for both indicators to be green.
Imagine Person A has bad eyesight. They absentmindedly plug in the fan charger to a socket (because they’re not thinking about it, they forget to turn the socket switch on or they just assume it is already on). At the same time the fan is on but not active. So there’s only one green light (power). Person A might not immediately realise that the fan is on and not charging because of how close the power and charge indicators are. This has happened to my mother. She wasn’t wearing her glasses, and only noticed the green light.
How can these be fixed
Based on the above issues, I thought of some recommendations that could significantly improve the user experience and usability of the rechargeable fan.
Shut down the entire system when the battery dies
When the battery dies, the entire system should shut down such that when the fan is connected to a power source, only the charging indicator comes on.
Shut down the system when it has been inactive for a predefined period of time
If the fan is turned on, and neither lamp nor fan is active after a period of time (anywhere from 5 seconds to 5 minutes), then the system should go off itself.
Show the user the level of the battery
When the fan is turned on, the power indicator should change colour as the battery depletes. This not only makes it consistent with the charge indicator, it allows the user to be aware of the battery status. In a situation where power outage occurs for an extended period of time, it is helpful to have an idea of how long the battery might last, so the user can stagger usage.
Place charge indicator and power indicator separately
Separate the charge and power indicators. The charge indicator could be placed closer to the charging point. At a glance, the user should be able to know what indicator they are looking at.
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