A Case Study of Situating Energy Temporality towards Designing for Communal Energy

Local participation in energy systems has seen increasing attention towards supporting sustainable transitions. In energy communities, local actors gather around renewable energy initiatives to coordinate energy production and consumption. In such communities, digital technology is envisioned to support individual householders in ‘shifting’ energy demands in time and place. However, social understandings of energy temporality in everyday practices may challenge notions of how digital technologies can support ambitions of shifting. This paper presents a case study of a newly established energy community in Denmark, focusing on solar energy produced at the local high school and its students. Through a workshop with 36 students, we identify nine energy-related practices performed as part of everyday school life. We show how such practices are messy, which practices might change, and where this change may occur. We use this to discuss research and practical implications for practice-oriented design in energy communities.