In Australia, despite widespread adoption of solar photovoltaic (PV) power, and the growing familiarity with other energy technologies, technologies associated with renewable generation in the home may still present perceived risks to householders and be the subject of contestation. In this paper, we argue that a focus on emotions can complement existing approaches for understanding the messiness and complexity of trade-offs households negotiate as they experience the process of purchasing, installing and using smart energy technologies. We explore emotional responses to a system of automated 'smart' renewable storage designed to support the local electricity network trialed with thirty-four households on Bruny Island, in Tasmania, Australia. We integrate our focus on emotions with a relational-materialist theory of affordances which helps us to unpack the specific features of the technology - which may encourage, discourage, demand, refuse and allow certain household practices as well as trading energy from their battery for financial benefit. The institutional design of the technology delivery which involved minimal decision making power from householders had a significantly negative impact on the lived experiences of householders with the technology. Our focus on affect also revealed the stress and frustration experienced by householders who could not understand and control the technology in the way desired and in line with islander attitudes of self-reliance and autonomy. We can also learn from the positive emotions of enthusiasm, delight and satisfaction experienced by householders. We find affordances theory is a helpful approach for unpacking specific features of the system that provoke different, sometimes even contradictory, responses, yet also suggest refinements to the theory to incorporate the context in which the technology comes to be in people's lives.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	affordances, battery storage, emotion, energy transition, household, renewable technology, platform technology
Research Division:	Human Society
Research Group:	Sociology
Research Field:	Sociology and social studies of science and technology
Objective Division:	Energy
Objective Group:	Energy storage, distribution and supply
Objective Field:	Energy services and utilities
UTAS Author:	Lovell, HC (Professor Heather Lovell)
UTAS Author:	Watson, P (Dr Phillipa Watson)
UTAS Author:	Harwood, A (Dr Andrew Harwood)
UTAS Author:	Hann, V (Ms Veryan Hann)
ID Code:	139886
Year Published:	2020
Web of Science® Times Cited:	17
Deposited By:	Office of the School of Social Sciences
Deposited On:	2020-07-13
Last Modified:	2021-01-27
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