Paper short abstract:

Over the last winters, European countries experienced peaks of electrical consumption (over 90 000MW in France). According to experts, we have avoided a major electrical failure.

Paper long abstract:

Over the last winters, European countries experienced peaks of electrical consumption (over 90 000MW in France). According to experts, we have avoided a major electrical breakdown.

Beyond a topical issue, breakdown is also an accurate object of anthropological investigation that would help to understand the ability of western ways of life to adjust themselves under strong constraint. This analysis should be situated into a more global context that leads us to re-think western ways of life and their impact on energy ressources.

This communication will be built from the findings of a larger research dedicated to an anthropological approach on energy in the domestic sphere. An extensive fieldwork has been done in Paris, London, Karlstruhe and Berlin. We propose, here, to underline the creativity of actual practices to assure the continuity of family life when appliances are down and the immense related field of representations.