innovations-in-Waiting: Practice Reconfigurations in and Beyond Sustainably Heated Households
25 Pages Posted: 20 Oct 2023
Abstract
Domestic heating systems need to change to meet climate targets. This paper contributes to a new understanding of the effects of introducing new and efficient heating technologies on everyday life within the household and beyond. We draw from the field of practice-oriented design research where disruptions are conceptualized as potential sites of innovation. This paper then reports on an ethnographic study of the disruptions and consequent reconfigurations that occur in households when new heating technologies are introduced. Our findings show a variety of reconfigurations and a potential role for further impact of these innovations-in-waiting. We also find that reconfigurations in household practices are related to, and might impact, other practices including professional ones. We discuss our findings with reference to the role of policy, technology developers and households, and conclude that there is further potential for innovative practice reconfigurations to contribute to sustainability transitions.
Keywords: energy transition, innovation, household, social practices, design, ethnography, Netherlands
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