This project is focussed on the emerging relationships between households, everyday life and smart home energy technologies.

Although no single definition of ‘smart home' currently exists, it is generally agreed that smart homes will be "equipped with computing and information technology which anticipates and responds to the needs of the occupants, working to promote their comfort, convenience, security and entertainment through the management of technology within the home and connections to the world beyond" (Aldrich in Harper 2003; Cook 2012). Through advanced and automated systems, smart homes are often presented as a key means by which households can optimize their use of energy-consuming appliances in order to save energy, carbon emissions and money. Furthermore, the integration and aggregation of Smart Homes at broader neighbourhood and city levels is seen as a key aspect in the development of ‘smart grids' (Harper 2003). As such, Smart Homes are being positioned as a potentially critical technology in efforts to transition to a lower-carbon energy system.

Within the academic and industry literature on smart homes, it is variously suggested that they may: i) empower households to actively manage their energy use; ii) automate many routine functions of the home; iii) overload households with information resulting in passivity and disengagement; iv) provoke concerns about information and confidentiality; and v) many other things besides (e.g. Hargreaves et al 2010; Strengers 2011)

To date, however, very little research has explored in-depth how householders actually interact with and use the suites of different technologies that smart homes may consist of (Edwards and Grinter 2001). Drawing on a wide-range of different theoretical approaches and perspectives (including, but not limited to, domestication theory; social practice theory; models of pro-environmental behaviour, etc.), this project will examine a series of key research questions, such as: 

- How do households interact with different ‘smart' technologies?
- What impact(s), if any, do smart homes have on household dynamics, practices, identities, and decision-making?
- How might smart home technologies be further developed to account for the complexities of normal everyday life?
- What are the potential impacts of the development of smart homes on the broader transition to a low-carbon energy system?

The project should involve a mix of methodological approaches including forms of household ethnography (e.g. go-alongs; household tours), in-depth interviews and surveys with both adopting and non-adopting households. Data collection should focus on change and stability in household practices and routines, impacts on social dynamics such as roles and interactions between household members, and deliberation among householders around major purchasing decisions. This will serve to generate novel empirical insights into the development of smart homes and their appropriation within the everyday lives of their inhabitants.

Cook, D.J. 2012. How smart is your home? Science, 335, pp1579-1581.

Edwards, W.K., & Grinter, R.E. 2001. At home with ubiquitous computing: seven challenges. (Ubicomp 2001) Lecture Notes in Computer Science 2201, pp256-272.

Hargreaves, T., Nye, M. & Burgess, J. (2010) Making energy visible: A qualitative field study of how householders interact with feedback from smart energy monitors. Energy Policy, 38, 6111-6119.

Harper, R. (ed) 2003. Inside the Smart Home. London, Springer.

Strengers, Y. (2011) Beyond demand management: co-managing energy and water practices with Australian households. Policy Studies, 32(1), 35-58.