Week 4 Lecture I Flashcards
While valuable, these measures do not provide a holistic approach to the energy reduction challenge
Improvement of building shells for higher thermal efficiency, the installation of energy efficient appliances and the adoption of renewable energy.
These include energy efficient building envelope design and low carbon materials, energy efcient appliances and renewable energy systems. The social system, on the other hand, is not so well understood and is often ignored.
Previous research has shown that highly energy efficient or net zero energy buildings
(i.e. buildings that produce as much energy through onsite renewable energy generation as they consume) do not achieve their full potential despite performing better than conventional buildings (Watson 2015).
Practice theory:
Rather than targeting the individual in isolation, practice theory emphasises people’s daily activity patterns and interactions with their technology, dwelling and urban infrastructure contexts. Practice theory also considers skills and abilities and intrinsic motivations for undertaking certain practices (Eon et al. 2018a).
The home is a complex environment which can be conceived as a combination of three systems:
the physical, the metabolic, the social
the physical systems
ensemble of objects; technologies and infrastructure that make up the building.
the metabolic systems
The metabolic system involves the movements of materials, water and energy, which fow through pipes and cables and are internally processed through the daily operation of appliances and fttings.
The metabolic system is affected by its interactions with the physical and the social systems
the social systems
The social system consists of the building occupants, who are affected by their cultural beliefs, values, knowledge, skills, their personal networks and wider society
Home system (PICTURE)
picture
Conventional methods for shifting occupant behaviour are grounded in four major psycho-social theories:
cognitive dissonance, planned behaviour, normative conduct, habitual behaviour
cognitive dissonance, -
individuals are conficted when they recognise that their values and their actions are inconsistent and work to realign them, resulting in either a change in behaviour or a change in attitude
planned behaviour -
behaviours are a product of attitudes, social norms and the perceived control individuals have over the outcomes of their own actions;
A change in behaviour would therefore require an alteration of these three factors.
normative conduct -
individuals are infuenced by wider societal norms and unspoken judgements;
Information about customary community behaviours and expectations is believed to shift individual behaviours.
habitual behaviour -
behaviours become automatic and unconscious when repeated regularly;
breaking established habits would require either a drastic change in context or frequent prompts (
Common interventions are based on the above theories and include:
the provision of information and feedback to increase awareness;
the delivery of social norms to make accepted and unaccepted behaviours explicit;
the request for a clear commitment or highlighting of hidden personal values to promote cognitive dissonance; and
the delivery of prompts to break established undesirable habits
The most successful interventions
often integrate social, technical and knowledge-based methods together, such as through real-time feedback, coaching and information campaigns; however, there are few long-term studies of the kind.
Social psycho-social theories
address resource use from a top-down perspective, persuading home occupants to change individual attitudes, perceptions and behaviours based on information being provided through the methods on Table 23.1.
Nevertheless, behaviours are infuenced by the wider society and culture and changing them entails a societal transition, being based on a more systemic approach
The Home System of Practice
The concept of HSOP (Eon et al. 2018a) emerged from practice theory, which ofers an alternative to understanding and shifting actions by focusing on everyday practices as opposed to resident behaviour, knowledge and attitudes
t individuals do not use energy resources directly, but rather as instruments to achieve specifc outcomes (
Practices conducted by users are afected by three elements: meaning, skill and technology
Meaning is the reason behind the execution of a practice;
skill is the understanding of how to execute the practice; and
technology encompasses the objects and infrastructure necessary to undertake the practice.
It follows that affecting one or more of these elements should result in a modifcation of the practice and subsequently the resource use, enabling (as opposed to persuading) occupants to save energy while continuing to meet their needs
Practices are place, time and circumstance dependent
As technologies and infrastructures evolve and are adopted, existing social practices become obsolete and are replaced by new ones
The repetition of practices in a habitual routine become interdependent and interlocked (i.e. interconnected) in a system of practice (SOP)
In a home occupied by multiple individuals, each individual possesses a unique SOP.
These SOPs interlock with each other as some practices are shared between individuals (e.g. eating a meal), occur sequentially (e.g. showering) or take place as a consequence of another set of household activities (e.g. cleaning up after children).
This network of SOPs in the home forms a HSOP which is a part of the social system of the home
interlocked practices and routines in the HSOP
picture
Shifting domestic energy consumption requires
a deep understanding of the HSOP; that is, the interconnections that exist between an individuals’ own practices as well as within the HSOP as a whole and incorporating the meanings, skills and technologies-in-use behind those practices that use energy.
Practices work days/weekends
practices occurring during workdays usually happen within tight timeframes as they are limited by predetermined activities, such as work or school and their timetables
Tis means that altering these practices, their times, duration or order, can prove hard as not only the practices themselves need to be afected, but all other interlocked practices in the HSOP.
Conversely, practices that occur during non-working days or that are not bound to recurring scheduled activities, are deemed to be lightly interlocked.
These are usually more fexible, have varying timetables and durations and are less dependent on the household routine, being therefore potentially easier to modify
Whenever a new practice is introduced in the home
interlocked practices need to be re-aligned so that the new practice becomes incorporated in the HSOP
more than one meaning can be attributed to the same practice
For example, research has shown that the practice of using a heater can be associated with multiple meanings or associations; for example, warmth, comfort, health and habit
Diferent meanings impact diferently on the resources required for the execution of a particular practice.
For showering, it has been shown that meanings such as cleanliness or refreshment are associated with shorter showers and thus less energy and water consumption. Meanings such as warmth and relaxation, on the other hand, are associated with longer showers and therefore higher resource use
Individuals who assign multiple meanings to the same practice
and thus use varying amounts of resources at each instance may be able to make a conscious decision to only adopt one of its more resource-efcient meanings and associated consumption patterns.
Conversely, individuals who have one sole meaning for a practice may not be willing or may not have the skills to reduce the associated resource use.
Requesting that occupants change the meanings of their practices without providing a suitable alternative to meet the same need is challenging
Information campaigns that have urged consumers to reduce their shower lengths, for example, have failed as they have not properly addressed the meaning behind the practice.
In this case, the adoption of an alternative technology, such as a more efcient shower head or water heating appliance, may be a more suitable solution for the purpose of reducing energy consumption in the home
To enable change to consumption patterns in the home, one of three scenarios needs to take place:
a new practice needs to be incorporated in the HSOP leading to a new home equilibrium;
one of the elements of the targeted practice needs to be modifed; or
a practice needs to be dis-interlocked or disconnected from the HSOP in order to act independently of the other occupants
Practice theorists posit that rather than persuading individuals to change behaviour and realign existing routines, the elements of practice should be targeted
A change in meaning can be challenging as it is the reason behind the execution of a practice;
that is, meaning relates to a need that an individual wants to fulfil and that directly impacts on the perceptions of lifestyle, comfort and wellbeing.
The skill associated with a practice is learned through the observation of other practitioners over the years, being family, society and culture dependent
Afecting skills might therefore entail a shift in an individual’s perception; which is also problematic to achieve in the short term
In contrast, the technology element of the practice can be more easily adjusted as it usually consists of a one-of change that does not afect the HSOP nor has a major impact on established habits and comfort (Eon et al. 2018b).
This is supported by research that suggests that consumers are favourable to more efcient technologies but perceive convenience, practicality and cost as factors in take-up (Dolnicar & Hurlimann 2010).
Technology changes can often be made when an individual is moving to a new house or purchasing new appliances
Innovative technologies must be designed to meet occupant needs and be properly understood to avoid the risk of generating undesired rebound efects
conducted through practice-oriented design, comprising the following steps:
understanding the baseline practices; c
challenging the status quo by identifying alternative solutions; and
co-creating solutions with the users.
This process encourages the development of innovative technologies capable of meeting users’ needs including more efcient use of resources.
Another solution to enable energy reduction in the home is through unlocking practices from the HSOP; that is, making them independent of other occupants or other systems of (low carbon) energy supply
This can be achieved through the use of automation that can be built into the physical systems of the home. For instance, the practices of dishwashing, clothes washing and pool cleaning can be automated to occur at times when renewable energy is being generated but when occupants are not necessarily present to carry out the task themselves
Battery storage will expand the opportunity here.
Similarly, appliances on standby can be programmed to be switched of when not in use and air conditioners can be controlled to function optimally in line with external factors such as temperature.
While the aforementioned practices can be executed manually, they are considered a hassle by occupants and seldom integrated into established routines
key demand management strategy in many governments’ energy policies.
Variable, cost-reflective or dynamic pricing
tariffs
The concept refers to tariffs in which the cost of electricity varies throughout the day, week or year, in line with peaks and troughs in electricity’s supply and demand
smart grids
Nonetheless, peak demand pressures and investment in ‘enabling technologies’ such as smart grids and meters mean that variable and dynamic tariffs are receiving heightened attention as a way to ‘smooth’ peaks and troughs in electricity demand and supply
A somewhat obvious but important assumption is that the key variable in variable pricing
price
The magnitude of demand response is thought to depend primarily on the degree of price difference, with higher prices resulting in more substantial demand shifting
For example, contrary to cost-benefit predictions, residential air conditioned cooling becomes increasingly negotiable with hotter temperatures and when more households own or use these devices, regardless of price
Similarly, some ‘information-only’ trials, which notify householders of an impending peak event but do not change the price of electricity during this time still achieve significant demand response
Price features here as one of the tools to reorient human action through individual choices.
Why does pricing not work so well?
Common ‘confounding factors’ that help explain why price may not operate as expected include low household energy use knowledge (CSIRO, 2013) and the problematic value-action gap (Blake, 1999), where motivations (to save energy, for example) do not match what people do
What if we focused on (about pricing)
What if we focused on the duration, frequency and regularity of pricing as a means to explore its effectiveness as an instrument of demand management?
This approach leads away from economic questions of price points, utility maximisation and costbenefit analyses, instead inviting us to explore how the temporalities of electricity pricing intersect with the routines and rhythms of everyday life.
reconceptualisation of tariffs
from economic or market signals to modes of sustaining and potentially disrupting the everyday temporalities which constitute energy demand
two distinctive variable pricing arrangements:
time-of-use (TOU) tariffs, dynamic or critical peak pricing (CPP), peak alerts
time-of-use (TOU) tariffs
– involves charging households different rates during fixed time points on the weekdays and weekends
dynamic or critical peak pricing (CPP)
charges a very high rate for electricity on a small number of short peak ‘events’, which are called up to 24 hours in advance in response to anticipated changes in supply or demand
f CPP events partly explained their success, associating a sense of urgency, importance or ‘crisis’ with these occasions
peak alerts
which embody the temporal dynamics of CPP, but without changing the price of electricity
the price is not needed to achieve significant demand response.
TOU aim to
TOU tariffs, characterised by their predictability and stability, aim to permanently move routines normally conducted during the peak tariff period into offpeak and shoulder tariff times.
In focusing on financially motivating consumers to regularly shift their energy demand, TOU achieves modest demand shifting.
CPP aims to
CPP aims to occasionally and irregularly disrupt household routines, mimicking and often coinciding with normal everyday disruptions, such as extreme weather events.
In contrast, peak alerts and information-only CPP trials unintentionally reposition the problem of peak demand as a community, health and/or national issue, similar to the ways in which blackouts, droughts and natural disasters are often approached: that is, with a focus on community concern and ‘common good’, rather than an individualistic assessment of ‘what’s in it for me’.
A second complementary approach is to
incentivise or enable those practices already performed during seasonal disruptions which help to reduce residential peak demand.
Demand management strategies in this situation might involve providing better and free access to cool spaces during critical peak demand days, such as extending library and pool opening hours, providing ways for people to spend time in shopping centres without needing to spend money, or providing free or discounted movie tickets during peak times
these strategies are not all nonfinancial or uneconomic
providing households with free movie tickets still involves an economic transaction. The distinction is one of scale. Whereas prices appeal to individual consumers and their electricity consumption, free movie tickets appeal to different ways of spending time. The cost-benefit equation is no longer about how to save money – it is about how to make, shift and take time for different activities in ways that support peak demand reduction.
The most popular reasons selected for wanting to respond to a peak alert were
‘to help prevent electricity outage (blackout)’ (64%),
‘to be part of a community effort’ (59%) and
‘to reduce stress on the electricity grid’ (52%). A
37% of respondents selected ‘to help other people or places that need the electricity more than us’.
‘it would be fun or educational for my child(ren)’.
Thus, peak alerts were an opportunity to generate ‘slow time’ for some.
Over a third of households (35%) said they would respond to a peak alert simply because they were asked
These responses indicate
social or community interest in (and shared responsibility for) the electricity system, which runs counter to current market-based propositions that position householders as ‘consumers’ or ‘customers’ of energy as a market commodity.
In other words, these findings challenge the dominant assumption that householders’ primary (and only) relationship to energy is an economic transaction, in which the cost of electricity is the key variable.
While TOU tariffs are tied to average peaks and troughs in daily demand,
they do not reflect the high price associated with providing electricity during the critical or network peaks (top 1% of hours), when many electricity systems struggle to provide enough supply to meet demand
CPP main points:
high CPP rate is only applied on a limited number of irregular peak demand days which normally coincide with very hot or cold weather
Consumers are usually notified of these critical peaks via a range multiple communication channels (SMS, email, automated phone message, in-home display) approximately one day in advance
CPP trials demonstrate substantial and sustained reductions in household electricity demand during events – between 13–20% or much more (27–44%) when combined with energy feedback and enabling technologies such as smart thermostats
During Winter and summer
A variation of CPP
the critical peak rebate (CPR), also known as the peak time rebate or a dynamic peak rebate, which financially rewards customers for reducing electricity during these critical peaks with a rebate or incentive on their bill (Faruqui, Hledik and Tsoukalis, 2009)
higher demand response compared to TOU is generally thought to be
a product of the higher peak price generating greater demand ‘elasticity’.
In one Australian trial of CPP, the information-only group reduced their peak consumption by an average of 13% in the summer and 11% overall (Strengers, 2010).
This was much higher than the demand response achieved through TOU pricing in the same trial, but still substantially lower than the CPP response
One way of understanding this blackout-like response is to think of CPP
is to think of CPP as transforming a ‘hot spot’ of consumption into a ‘cold spot’, where the normal harriedness of everyday life calms down and practices are temporally suspended in favour of ‘family time’ or ‘quality time’
the normal intensity of energy demand during a critical peak
does not necessarily reflect or map on to the normal rhythms of regularly occurring practices
namely that demand response commonly increases when the temperature becomes more extreme. In neoclassical economics, this response is viewed as irrational, the assumption being that the benefit of air conditioning on a hot day will increasingly outweigh the cost of providing it as the temperature rises
However, in many instances, the opposite occurs. Trials indicate that the demand response (cutting down on electricity consumption) increases with higher temperatures and air conditioning penetration, because householders simply turn this appliance off
Put another way, on the hottest days of the year, which are arguably when people are most likely to want to use air conditioning, householders are more likely to turn their thermostat up, adopt alternative cooling strategies or turn their air conditioner off (if there is a meaningful reason to do so
A TOU tariff differentiates between off-peak, shoulder and peak periods.
It is a routinised form of pricing, in which the daily breakdown of rates is known, predictable and rarely changes.
These different breakdowns are synchronised with predictable peaks and troughs in daily demand, such as the early pre-work and pre-school rush and/or the afternoon/early evening post-school, post-work routines
TOU prices
Prices are lowest during the off-peak period and highest during the peak, reflecting the extra costs of supplying electricity during these times
Different in each country
TOU tariffs have been found to promote a drop in peak demand of
Internationally, TOU tariffs have been found to promote a drop in peak demand of 3–6%
Many claim it is the low price volatility which keeps the demand shifting modest
TOU depends on
‘depend[s] on the proportion of electricity demand that is capable of being shifted between peak and off-peak periods and the change in the price of peak and off-peak tariffs compared against original flat tariff’
capability
Capability’ is the key term here, referring to consumer decisions and choices to shift energy demand to other times of the day, which is assumed to be a direct outcome of the change in price.
determine opportunities for TOU demand shifting.
In other words, it is the routinised temporalities of practices, rather than individual choices and price, which determine opportunities for TOU demand shifting.
Regularly or permanently changing these routines was not dependent on price
but on the availability of household members, children’s needs (for food and sleep) and desires to create shared familial experiences during dinnertime and generate downtime at the end of the day (
‘flat tariffs’ have proved problematic in countries where
short bursts of electricity supply are needed to cope with increasing air conditioning, heating and other demand, particularly on very hot and cold days.
consumers, including many in developed nations, are still billed for their electricity using a flat multiplier – the cents/kWh – multiplied by the volumetric consumption for the period
peak demand creates both
From the electricity industry’s perspective, peak demand creates both network and economic inefficiencies in the electricity system, whereby expensive infrastructure is built, but only used for a few days of the year to meet peaks in demand
This means that billions of dollars of electricity assets sit idle for the majority of the year, a cost which is passed onto all electricity consumers through their bill.
Alternatively, where demand cannot be smoothed, the aim is to ensure
that consumers who use electricity during peak periods pay disproportionately more during these times, in order to cover the extra infrastructure and generation costs involved.
Variable pricing is one of the key instruments by which this smoothing of demand, or more equitable distribution of costs, can be achieved
In previous work, I argued that is the ‘meanings’ that prices convey
and the way these intersect with everyday practices, which account for variation in tariff demand responses
I suggested that prices can convey meanings of scarcity and abundance, which in turn reposition some practices as wasteful or normal during different pricing scenarios.
