Paper short abstract:

Informed by theories of social practice and science and technology studies this paper shows how these practices become mediated by the intervention of smart meter technology.

Paper long abstract:

Almost 20% of the energy consumption in the EU relates to the heating of dwellings. Therefore energy retrofitting of Europe's current dwelling stock has become one of the major challenges for a transition to a low carbon society. This paper draws from in-depth interviews with homeowners in the Netherlands who have been involved in the energy retrofitting of their homes: they have installed PV panels, hydronic heating, high-performance installation et cetera. As part of the process of domestic retrofit, a smart meter has been installed in their home with the aim to monitor their domestic energy performance. A smart meter is an electronic device that records consumption of electric energy and communicates that information at least daily back to the utility for monitoring and billing. Studies on domestic retrofit reveal that retrofitting a home is closely related to the practices that are taking place in everyday life in the home (Karvonen 2013; Chiu et al 2014). Informed by theories of social practice and science and technology studies this paper shows how these practices become mediated by the intervention of smart meter technology.

Chiu, L. F., Lowe, R., Raslan, R., Altamirano-Medina, H., & Wingfield, J. (2014). A socio-

technical approach to post-occupancy evaluation: interactive adaptability in domestic retrofit. Building Research & Information, 42(5), 574-590.

Karvonen, A. (2013). Towards systemic domestic retrofit: a social practices approach. Building Research & Information, 41(5), 563-574.