Digitised demand response in practice: The role of digital housekeeping for smart energy technologies

Abstract

The renewable energy transition requires more flexible electricity consumption. This article follows up on Norwegian plans to achieve this through demand response and a piloting of smart home technology targeting indoor heating, which we call Smart Energy Technology (SET). Based on 17 in-depth interviews with participants in a technology pilot project, we map the work required to keep the SET system running, how it impacted electricity-consuming household practices, and analyse why use of the system varied widely among participants. We show that the system in question was too complex for other than exceptionally skilled and motivated users, who engaged in extensive “digital housekeeping”. Other users were navigating a complex Norwegian electricity market using technology they found difficult to operate. This was linked with limited system use, which lowered the energy efficiency contribution of the smart system. Smart systems and their use are highly gendered and have the potential both to challenge and reinforce gendered divisions of labour. More research into the gendered impacts of smart systems in Norway is needed. Simpler and more user-friendly systems are necessary for future pilot projects, more hands-on training for users in such pilots is required, and the daily work required to operate complex smart systems should be recognised more clearly by both smart system developers and policy makers.