Smart home technology enabling flexible heating demand: implications of everyday life and social practices

Integrating households into the energy system is considered a potential strategy for a low-carbon future, where balancing energy production and consumption becomes a challenge due to the intermittent and fluctuating nature of renewable energy sources. Time shifting electricity demand related to appliance use or heat pump production has been a focus in recent research, whereas heating consumption in district heating systems has received less attention.

However, smart home technology (SHT) has been highlighted as a solution in which increased automation of heating could lead to balancing the supply and demand. SHT can enable households to be flexible energy hubs where heating can be stored, time shifting energy consumption to avoid peak-demand problems. Based on a review of the technical components of SHT, combined with a review of user engagements with SHT, we create a classification of SHT in a district heating system. Exploring several cases in real-world settings in the context of Denmark, we highlight the implications of everyday life and social practices when integrating SHT for enabling a flexible heating demand.

While SHT may empower users with control of space heating (increased awareness and engagement with heating consumption), new notions of comfort and convenience may result in new and more energy-demanding practices, resulting in less flexibility within the district heating system. Based on these reviews, this paper underlines how active engagement with SHT is entangled in practices of everyday life and that, when integrating SHT to enable flexible heating demand in households, the role of everyday practices requires careful consideration.