"While the sun's shining": energy feedback, weather and practical knowledge in Australian households with solar and batteries

Exploring the lay knowledge people draw on as they consume energy, and use emerging energy technologies and tools including solar panels, batteries and energy data.

As renewable, weather-dependent energy generation becomes more widespread, it is increasingly important that households use energy when it is being produced. Emerging energy technologies and tools, including rooftop solar, battery storage and energy feedback, are designed to help households manage their energy consumption. Yet the changes to energy consumption patterns achieved to date have only been modest, and of uncertain permanence.

Despite these limitations, householders can be seen to routinely draw on practical forms of knowledge about weather and energy which guide their everyday practices and energy use. These experiential and embodied understandings are evident when people look to the sky to estimate their real-time solar generation, ‘feel’ outdoor temperatures to guide household heating and cooling practices, and negotiate the performance of housework around changing weather and social conditions. The aim of this thesis is to understand how practical weather knowledge shapes everyday practices in households with solar and batteries. To this end research was conducted with 30 households (50 participants) across three Australian field sites.

Contact: Rex Martin

Email: rex.martin@monash.edu