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Influencing household energy practices: a critical review of UK smart metering standards and commercial feedback devices
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 08:57 authored by Pullinger, M, Heather LovellHeather Lovell, Webb, JThe smart metering systems currently being installed in UK households support devices that give feedback aimed at encouraging behaviour changes, specifically to reduce energy demand and spending on energy. Detailed standards specify the minimum technical capabilities of the smart meters and feedback devices. In this paper, we assess the extent to which these standards enable feedback that is likely to be effective in reducing demand. Latest research in this field, drawing on theories of social practice, suggests that feedback devices assume and rely on what we term ‘reflection practice’, a distinctive type of social practice, and that feedback attentive to the particular energy-using practices of householders is likely to have most influence on demand. Neither the smart meter standards nor current commercial devices are found to incorporate these latest research findings, potentially significantly limiting the ability of the UK smart metering programme to fulfil its domestic energy demand reduction objectives.
History
Publication title
Technology Analysis & Strategic ManagementVolume
26Issue
10Pagination
1144-1162ISSN
0953-7325Department/School
School of Social SciencesPublisher
RoutledgePlace of publication
United KingdomRights statement
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Repository Status
- Open