Page 1  60
Working Paper 1:
Understanding Energy
Consumption at the
Grundfos Dormitory Lab
as Situated Practices
Initial Qualitative Report 2013
Page 2  60
This study was carried out by the Alexandra Institute as part of the EcoSense and VPP4SGR projects.
EcoSense aims at reducing environmental footprints through collective sensing, macroscopic analysis
and feedback iniatives on community, organisational and individual level. The partners in the project
are: Aarhus Universitet, Alexandra Instituttet, Grundfos, Insero Business, ScanEnergi, Project Zero, Aarhus Kommune, Københavns Kommune . The project is funded by the Danish Council for Strategic Research.
VPP4SGR (Virtual Power Plant for Smart grid Ready Buildings) aims at making residential buildings and
its residents Smart Grid ready by involving the building’s ability for demand response and activating residents in flexibility concepts. The partners in the project are: Aarhus Universitet, Alexandra Instituttet,
Aarhus Kommune, Develco Product, (Dong Energy). VPP4SGR is funded by ForskEL.
Page 3  60
Document information
Project Title
Acronym
Project Website
Project Manager
Number
Title
Number
Title
Responsible Partner
Name
Name
Name
Name
Name
Virtual Power Plants for Smart Grid Ready Buildings and Customers
VPP4SGR
http://vpp4sgr.au.dk
Peter harling Lykke
Deliverable
D2.1.1
Initial Qualitative Report 2013
Work package
WP2
Analysis and Specifications
Alexandra Institute A/S
Author(s)
Mia Kruse Rasmussen
Email
[email protected]
Johanne Mose Entwistle Email
[email protected]
Laura Lynggaard Nielsen Email
[email protected]
Document Reviewer(s)
Sergi Rotger Griful
Email
[email protected]
Email
Document Approver
Email
Name
Version
Date
Author
Version Control
Comment
Page 4  60
Table of contents
1.
Introduction .........................................................................................................6
2.
The Context ..........................................................................................................7
2.1.
Grundfos Dormitory Lab ..................................................................................................7
2.2.
EcoSense.........................................................................................................................7
2.3.
Virtual Power Plant for Smart Grid Ready Buildings and Customers (VPP4SGR) .................8
3.
Method ................................................................................................................9
4.
The Residents and the Dorm ............................................................................... 11
4.1.
The Residents ............................................................................................................... 11
4.2.
The Dorm as a Social Setting .......................................................................................... 12
5.
Flexible Community ............................................................................................ 13
5.1.
Different Levels of Engagement ..................................................................................... 14
5.2.
Virtual Community ........................................................................................................ 16
5.3.
Community as a Value ................................................................................................... 17
6.
Different Articulations of Energy Awareness ....................................................... 19
6.1.
Taking Care of the Earth ................................................................................................ 19
6.2.
Moral Consumption and Embodied Practices ................................................................. 20
6.3.
Pragmatic Economising or Leaving it to Technology........................................................ 20
6.4.
The Right to Consume and Inevitable Consumption ....................................................... 21
7.
Factors Affecting Energy Consumption ................................................................ 24
7.1.
The Contextual Wheel of Practice .................................................................................. 25
Page 5  60
8.
Understanding Consumption in the Dorm ........................................................... 28
8.1.
Time and Money ........................................................................................................... 28
8.2.
Different Consumption Profiles ..................................................................................... 28
8.3.
A Holistic Perspective and Energy Choices ...................................................................... 29
8.4.
The Non-Negotiability of (Some) Practices ..................................................................... 30
9.
Flexibility Potential ............................................................................................. 33
9.1.
Cooking ........................................................................................................................ 34
9.2.
Laundry ........................................................................................................................ 36
9.3.
Indoor Climate .............................................................................................................. 37
9.4.
Entertainment .............................................................................................................. 38
9.5.
Lighting......................................................................................................................... 39
10.
Potential Roads Ahead ....................................................................................... 40
10.1.
Money and Information ................................................................................................ 40
10.2.
Contextual Practice Change ........................................................................................... 40
11.
References ......................................................................................................... 43
12.
Appendix 1: Informant Overview ........................................................................ 44
13.
Appendix 2: Inventory of Electrical Devices in the Apartments ............................ 58
Page 6  60
1.
Introduction
This report summarizes the main findings of the interviews carried out with residents of the
Grundfos Dormitory Lab as part of the qualitative baseline in the fall of 2013, and provides
an analytical framework for understanding these insights in a wider context as socially situated practices. Where considered relevant, the report also includes findings from the first
questionnaire sent out to residents in March 2013 to provide a more complete picture of
what we know about the dorm and the residents at this point in time, thereby providing
the best possible outset for defining and designing suitable interventions.
In the first part of the report, we set the scene by giving an overview of who the residents
are, what the Grundfos Dormitory Lab is, what the place means to the residents, as well as
what they think about, and how they participate in the community at the dormitory lab.
We also present different energy narratives to show how the residents think and talk about
their energy consumption and how energy aware they consider themselves to be.
After presenting these initial empirical insights we introduce the ‘Contextual Wheel of Practice’ and use this to argue for an understanding of energy consumption at the dormitory lab
as a socially situated practice, constituted and affected by interrelated factors such as
norms, values, materiality, and infrastructure. Building on this practice theoretical foundation and empirical data from the interviews, we argue that daily practices in relation to energy consumption must be viewed not as isolated but as interrelated. Residents articulate
their energy consumption in a holistic perspective rather than isolated activities.
We conclude the report by discussing what the knowledge and framework presented in the
report means in relation to the flexibility potential at the dormitory lab and our future interventions: the scope we have to impact change and the possible roads ahead.
Included in the appendix is a more detailed overview of the informants, focussing on their
attitude towards community and energy awareness (appendix 1), as well as an inventory of
energy consuming devices in their apartments (appendix 2).
Page 7  60
2.
The Context
2.1.
Grundfos Dormitory Lab
The 12-storey Grundfos Dormitory is situated on the newly landscaped Aarhus Ø, and
opened for residents in September 2012. The building is home to about 200 residents who
live in 1-2 room apartments, each with a separate kitchen and bathroom.
The building is also a living lab – the Grundfos Dormitory Lab, equipped with more than
3000 sensors that measure temperature, humidity, CO2, domestic water (cold and hot tap
water) district heating water, and electricity usage. These sensors can provide unique
knowledge about the activities of the residents, and how to they might optimize and reduce their energy consumption. The Alexandra Institute is a partner in two projects based
at the dormitory lab, EcoSense and VPP4SGR. The knowledge about the residents that we
present in this report feeds into both of these projects and should help guide the development of different initiatives. The following sections present a short description of the two
projects.
2.2.
EcoSense
EcoSense is a strategic research project and joint development effort between universities,
industrial partners, and municipalities. The overall objective of EcoSense is to develop novel
collective sensing, macroscopic analysis and visualization methods for streams of semantically annotated measurement data from which climate impacts can be inferred.
The EcoSense vision is to deliver to individuals and decision makers reliable eco-aware tools.
Our hypothesis is that greater awareness of climate impacts will empower individuals,
companies and institutions to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 5-10%.
We apply these methods to a range of cases covering transportation, schools, and residential settings. In the Grundfos dormitory lab case, we correlate sensor data on energy consumption, humidity and CO2 with the knowledge we gain about the individuals (through interviews, questionnaires and workshops) to perform cross-disciplinary analysis and develop
Page 8  60
new concepts for how to reduce CO2 emissions.
To learn more about the project and the different partners involved please visit the project
webpage: http://ecosense.au.dk
2.3.
Virtual Power Plant for Smart Grid Ready Buildings and Customers (VPP4SGR)
The research project Virtual Power Plant for Smart Grid Ready Buildings and Customers uses the Grundfos Dormitory Lab in Aarhus as a full-scale energy lab. Until 2015, the researchers will log the energy use, humidity level, CO2 emissions and flow of water, heat and
electricity at high frequency for each one of the 159 apartments. Furthermore, the VPP system will receive weather forecasts about temperature, wind conditions, and the direction
of the sun.
The goal is that this information automatically regulates the building's total heat and ventilation needs with the lowest possible energy use and the optimal comfort level for the residents, while providing flexibility to the electricity grid by means of DR. However, research
has shown that the energy use in identical buildings may differ dramatically. Since the
buildings are the same, the differences are attributed to the user behaviour in the buildings. Therefore, the proposed flexibility concepts will be developed and verified through
user studies.
You can learn more about the project at: http://eng.au.dk/en/research/researchprojects/virtual-power-plant-for-smart-grid-ready/
Page 9  60
3.
Method
We carried out semi-structured interviews with 20 residents at the dorm over a period of 2
months from August to September 2013. Before the interviews, we prepared an interview
guide outlining different themes to go through, covering the dorm, community, electric devices in the apartments, daily routines, and energy awareness. The interviews were done in
Danish, and all the quotes included in the report have been translated from Danish to English by the authors.
Using the semi-structured interview format gives us the opportunity to follow the informants in what they find interesting and relevant, and to elaborate further on those aspects,
while still assuring that we cover all outlined themes. Thereby we maintain compatibility
across interviews, but we also gain valuable knowledge about how the residents ascribe
meaning to their own lives, as we are letting them tell us about the things they find most
important (Kvale 1996).
One of the things to be aware of when using interviews to gain knowledge about people’s
lives is that the interview responses are people’s retrospective reflections. There is often a
difference between what people say they do, and what they actually do. To try to get them
to relate their thoughts on our questions as much as possible to their daily routines, we
used different tools:
1. We had them draw pictures of their apartments and plot in the different energy consuming devices they had
2. We had them talk us through an ordinary day, step by step
3. We showed them visual representations of their energy consumption (compared to the average consumption at the dormitory lab)
By contextualising the interviews in this way, we managed to get quite detailed information
about their different practices. We also gained insight into people’s own understandings of
why their consumption looks in a certain way and how they feel about this – information
that will be valuable in both designing and implementing interventions.
Page 10  60
All the information in the report has been anonymised. Room numbers have been removed
and informant names have been changed to make it impossible to trace back the information to individual respondents.
Page 11  60
4.
The Residents and the Dorm
4.1.
The Residents
All of our informants like living at the dorm. When asked why they chose to apply for an
apartment here, they state the location of the dorm and the fact that they have their own
kitchen and bathroom as determining factors. Most of them also applied for other dorms
that lived up to these criteria, and they might as well have ended up in one of those places
instead. None of the residents emphasize the green profile or the sensor technology in the
building as something that made them choose this dorm over other dorms.
When it comes to what is good about living at the Grundfos Dorm, some point mainly to
the architecture and location of the building, whereas others emphasize the social life at
the dorm. The ones emphasising the building and the apartments are the ones less engaged
in the social life at the dorm, while the very social informants attach more importance to
the social community.
To sum up, the residents, not surprisingly, seem to be very “average” young people. They
care about having their own space, about living close to the city, about having a good social
life, about saving money, and being able to spend time on the things they care about. This
preliminary overall profile of the people living at the dorm is consistent with the one we got
from the questionnaire last year, in which respondents stated price, location, and community as primary reasons for choosing the Grundfos Dorm. No one mentioned energy or environmental considerations.
As we go on to describe the different topics in the report, a fuller picture of the residents
will be drawn. In addition, appendix 1 gives a more detailed description of the individual informants in relation to community and energy awareness.
Page 12  60
4.2.
The Dorm as a Social Setting
The residents at the Grundfos Dorm have various motives for choosing to live there, and also highlight different aspects when asked what is good about it. Some residents emphasised the social life, whereas others mainly view the dorm as a way of getting an apartment
in the city centre at a reasonable price. Regardless of these differences, the fact that the
place is conceptualised as a dorm – not just an apartment building – seems to influence the
expectations people have of what it will be like to live here.
On the one hand, people ascribe to this understanding of a dorm as a very social place
where you meet new people and do fun things together. On the other hand, there is also a
feeling that the Grundfos Dorm differs somewhat from a ‘traditional dorm’ by not being as
social:
I think I imagined that a lot of things would be going on all the time. So every time you got home you
would be socially active and spend time with other residents. That you would almost never be by
yourself… But that is not the way it was.
Interviewer: Were you disappointed about that?
No, it was actually quite alright. There was so much going on at school so I did not really have the
energy to engage more. (Mikkel)
When constructing a building, the people designing it have a certain vision of how it is to be
used. This vision can be called a ‘script’. The script outlines the possible uses of the building,
thereby framing the actions of the people living there. The script, however, does not determine the way the building is inhabited; there is an on-going process between the building and its residents in which the environment there is being shaped (Akrich 1992).
Page 13  60
The Grundfos Dorm is a place that implies both sociality and privacy. It is conceptualised as
a dorm, which implies a great deal of community. But at the same time, the apartments also work as individual units, and some residents clearly state using them as such. Calling the
place a ‘dorm’ evokes certain images of what life there is like, placing it in the same category as more ‘traditional’ dorms even though the building infrastructure scripts another type
of behaviour that is more individualistic. For the residents, including the ones who do not
socialize ‘the dorm way’, the building can never be just an apartment building, even if they
describe it as not being a ‘real dorm’:
It’s this sense of security in knowing that you are surrounded by equals. So if you have any problems
you can just ask someone for help. In that way it is not like an apartment. You share problems and
help each other out. (Kasper)
Community is articulated in a certain way in this particular social setting; something that is
special to the dorm. The dorm concept becomes a frame for the narratives the residents
form about their lives there and for the social community. Even the ones not particularly
engaged in the social activities at the dorm see the dorm as something unique and emphasise a sense of community at the dorm as something different from what you find in other
places.
5.
Flexible Community
As described in the informant overview (appendix 1), it varies to what degree the residents
participate actively in the social life at the dorm. Some prefer to just be by themselves
when they are at home, and spend time with their fellow students or other friends outside
the dorm. Others only talk to fellow residents when participating in parties and use the
common room sporadically, while some spend time with other residents on a daily basis.
This division of the residents into three distinct social groupings with varying engagement
in the social life at the dorm corresponds to the analysis of the questionnaire in which three
groups were also identified.
What is common across these three discrete levels of engagement is that they all subscribe
to an ideal of community, and that they want this community to be flexible.
Page 14  60
For the majority of our informants, getting their own kitchen and bathroom was critical for
why they chose to apply for an apartment at the Grundfos Dorm. Besides having full control
and autonomy over their facilities, a central aspect of this choice is the freedom to choose
when to be social and when to be by yourself. So even though there is quite a strong sense
of community at the dorm, it always takes place on the individuals’ terms:
I spend a lot of time at school during the day, so when I come home – if I don’t feel like being social I
can just go down here and cook or whatever. But if I feel like seeing somebody I can just go up to the
common room. There is always the choice of either or. It’s not like regular dorms where you have to
be social all the time. (Sara)
This choice is enabled by the design of the building, where everyone has their own apartment fulfilling their practical needs, and the common room is located at the top floor where
only a few residents pass through naturally. This makes it easy to avoid contact with other
residents when desired. Opting out of the social life at the dorm is easy, whereas participating in it takes active effort. Secondly, a lot of our informants value and guard the opportunity to be by themselves when they are at home and like the fact that you can choose to be
social or relax by yourself, according to mood:
I just think it is really nice that if you feel like being social, you can be social, and when you don’t, you
can just go to your own apartment to relax. I really appreciate that. (Eva)
In this perspective, the home is a base where the residents go to recharge and do just what
they want. Even for the people belonging to the very social group it is important to have the
freedom of choice concerning social engagements.
5.1.
Different Levels of Engagement
The residents’ personal narratives of life at the dorm differ quite a bit, depending on the
individual perception of what a dorm is or should be, and on their social relations at the
dorm.
A large part of the residents are not very actively involved in the social community at the
dorm, and some of them feel a certain need to justify this. In their understanding, part of
Page 15  60
living at a dorm should be having a social life there. However, it has either taken too much
effort to become part of the social group, or it is expressed as a choice: they do not feel like
investing time and energy in the dorm community and would rather spend it on their studies, jobs, hobbies, family, and the friends they already have.
Well, it could be fun to be part of something, but now that I have chosen to get my own place I also
feel like it is not the most important thing to me… I still see the people from where I used to live, so I
kind of feel like I have enough people in my life. (Mie)
Some also express the view that the Grundfos Dorm is not a ‘real dorm’, meaning that it is
not like traditional dorms where people share a kitchen, etc. Designating the dorm in this
way places the causal explanation with the building rather than the individual, thereby
making it more acceptable for the residents not to be actively engaged in social activities.
The thing about more traditional dorms where you share kitchen and things like that is that it might
be easier to get a strong community because you have to see each other on a daily basis. Whereas
here – I really like having my own kitchen and bathroom, and I would not want to live in an old fashioned dorm, but it does have the consequence that it might be a bit harder to establish a strong
community. (Thomas)
Others express their non-involvement as a more natural matter. They just do not feel like
they fit in with the others or do not feel drawn to the dorm sociality, but they are fine with
it, and they do not really give thought to whether they should be socially involved or not.
The people who are up there are very social. And that is fine. I just don’t have the need to get involved like that. So then I just do something down here (in the apartment) instead. (Mette)
There is a crowd of about 30 people who hang out in the common room and take part in
each other’s daily lives, watch TV, do communal eating, drink beer, bake cakes, etc. This
group is also greatly represented in the residents’ board and the party planning committee.
Some of the people belonging to this group express a wish to have a more general and inclusive social community at the dorm, but many of the other residents feel that the clique is
occupying the common room, which the clique is also aware of themselves. They state that
they are trying to involve more people through different initiatives and efforts to get new
people to come to the parties, but it is still the same crowd that hangs out in the common
room on a daily basis. When asked why it is important to them to get more people involved,
one of the answers is that this is the way it is supposed to be at a dorm:
Page 16  60
For every party we try to improvise to see if there is some new way to get people to join. We
really want people to join, because we want to get to know them.
Interviewer: Why do you think it is important that as many as possible join the events?
Because I think that is the way a dorm works. When you choose to live at a dorm it is more
social than living in an apartment. But because we have these individual apartments it is
completely up to you if you want to be social or not. I just think there is a certain feel down
here and that is really cool. (Kristina)
5.2.
Virtual Community
The Grundfos Dorm community has a strong virtual manifestation: Facebook. Whereas the
common room is mostly used by a limited group of people, the Grundfos Dorm Facebook
group is basically used by everyone. Most people get notifications from the group, some
create and reply to posts, others just read the posts, and yet again others only look at the
wall sporadically. The wall of the Facebook group is used for a variety of purposes: asking
questions, posting social events (planned and spontaneous), asking for things you need (e.g.
an egg), searching for things you have left somewhere or for the owner of something you
found (e.g. clothes in the laundry room), sharing news (for instance the elevator and big
tumble dryer break down quite often), etc.
There are also smaller groups for different social activities (e.g. baking, knitting, or drinking
alcohol). The members of these groups are the ones more active in the social life in general,
and they seem to value having these separate groups where they feel it is more appropriate
to post events or questions in a more specific setting.
Then our dinner club has a designated group, and then there are a few of us who are very
social who also have another group. So I think I would post it there instead, or call somebody,
or ask my neighbour. (Morten)
As each member of the group can choose the level of involvement in the group (or subgroups), this fits very well with how the social interaction generally takes place. It allows residents to feel like part of a community even with very little effort, thereby adding to the
Page 17  60
sense of the dorm as a place where people are committed to each other and help each other out:
Somebody wrote asking what the procedure for renting the common room was, and I was familiar
with the process because I had already rented the room, so I could write him back right away how to
do it. That is nice; I think that we are connected to each other in that way.
Interviewer: Why is that good?
Because then you are not alone with your problems. It is not like living in an apartment where you
don’t know your neighbours. Here we have a community in the sense that we help each other out. So
there is a bit of community after all. (Mikkel)
5.3.
Community as a Value
Community is seen as a core value for the residents at the dorm. This is partly influenced by
their perceptions of what a dorm is or should be, but also emphasizing the uniqueness of
the Grundfos Dorm. There is a strong ideal of community, but it needs to be a flexible community where engagement is a choice, and levels can be turned up or down depending on
time and energy.
As many of the residents also mention, having their own kitchen and bathroom means that
the community does not come as naturally as in other dorms. As a result, the residents feel
they have to work harder to establish and maintain social connections. This could be viewed
as a disadvantage. However, the residents actually like it this way. They are aware of the
costs, but they value the benefits more (as Thomas expresses in the quote on page 6).
Many of the residents view the Grundfos Dorm as more of an apartment building than a
dorm, but that does not necessarily mean that they do not value their small interactions
with other residents. It gives a sense of security that everyone shares the same problems,
and some have also exchanged keys and help each other with practical problems.
Because it is nice to have a sense of community at the dorm. You want someone to go to if you need
to hang something on the wall, or if you are bored one night – or what do I know…It is always good to
have a circle of acquaintances where you are. It is nice to have someone you trust to give your key to
so that you can go to them if you lock yourself out one day. That’s important. (Mette)
Page 18  60
Knowing that they are surrounded by peers gives the residents a feeling of community even
if they do not actively take part in the social life. This sense of community is valued and
viewed as something unique to the dorm.
I really like living here. Not because I am particularly active socially. I don’t participate in events, and I
don’t know that many people here, but just the fact that we are a lot of students living here gives a
sense of community. (Liv)
This strong presence of community as both a value and a practice seems to be a strong driver for engagement and it is something we should also take into account in our interventions
to engage the residents in a community that is both flexible and meaningful.
Page 19  60
6.
Different Articulations of Energy Awareness
Another interesting perspective that stood out during our analysis is the different ways in
which energy consumption and energy awareness are articulated. The informants use very
different energy narratives to describe what is at stake when they consume or think about
energy, and to explain if and how they minimize their consumption.
It is important to stress that these different narratives were only articulated when we asked
the residents very directly to tell us about how and when they think about energy. None of
the informants brought up the theme of energy by themselves.
The narratives can be seen as post-rationalizations. It is a way of trying to explain behaviour
or choices that may not be very intentional or rational. The narratives do not necessarily
have any spill over effect on their actual behaviour. It is, however, still interesting for us to
explore these narratives further as they give an indication of values and attitudes among the
residents when it comes to energy. Therefore, it will be very interesting to further investigate the relationship between these values and energy behaviour by looking at the correlation between these articulations and the actual consumption patterns observable through
sensor data or scenario observations.
6.1.
Taking Care of the Earth
For some of our informants, reflections about saving energy are expressed as directly linked
to concerns about the planet, about wanting to do something for the greater good, and
showing social responsibility.
Because I feel like we owe it to future generations to take care of the earth, so they have something to
live off and on. (Stine)
It is not so much about saving money. It is more from an environmental perspective. There is no reason why I should use energy when I don’t really need it. (Lise)
To these residents, energy is not only about themselves and their needs. It is something that
has to do with an overall societal awareness. There is a strong link to identity in the sense
that these people also categorise themselves as ”energy aware” and like to see themselves
Page 20  60
(and be viewed by others) as the kind of people who care about others and are socially responsible.
6.2.
Moral Consumption and Embodied Practices
Some informants express concern about their energy consumption because they believe
that consuming too much energy is wrong. This can sometimes cause them to feel guilty
about their choices and habits, if they feel like they are exceeding the limits of what is normal or reasonable. Our informants have a difficult time explaining what makes them feel
this way – just that this type of consumption has greater implications than simply the monetary costs.
I have bad habits. Especially when it comes to water and things like that. For instance when I do the
dishes I actually leave the water running, and you are not supposed to do that. Because it’s wrong!
(Lise)
This type of moral rationale often seems to be very much linked to upbringing. Many informants report having been told when growing up to turn off the lights when leaving the
room or not take too long showers. This knowledge has been internalised and become embodied practices.
These practices are not really something our informants are reflexive about when they do it.
They do it more or less automatically, but when they are asked to elaborate further they
quite consistently trace this type of behaviour back to upbringing:
I think I am pretty aware. I always switch off the lights. But I also think it is something I have been
taught from home and now it is just a habit. (Mie)
6.3.
Pragmatic Economising or Leaving it to Technology
Whereas the moral attitude is linked to norms and understandings of what the right thing to
do is, there is an equally present articulation with a more pragmatic tone. Here, it is about a
general thrift or prioritisation; it is silly to spend too much energy because it is viewed as a
waste of resources. This standpoint can be regarding electricity, money, and other resources.
Page 21  60
There is no sign of guilt about consuming; you just should not spend more than you need –
of anything.
Interviewer: When do you think about energy?
Peter: When I walk out the door and turn off all the lights
Interviewer: Why do you do that?
Peter: Well, it is just money out of the window – that is stupid. I don’t get anything out of it, There is
no comfort in it or anything like that, that’s why. Otherwise I would not do it.
This informant would not want to make compromises to save energy. He prioritizes the
good life, is willing to pay for comfort, and does not really care how much his energy consumption costs. He is willing to pay the cost to uphold the life style he wants (see quote on
page 18), but he still feels he is aware not to spend energy where it is not needed.
Another view of energy awareness that resembles the pragmatic economising is that it
should not take up too much of your time. A way to be relatively unaware and still conserve
to a certain degree is to take some conscious decisions, and set up your technology in such a
way that it uses as little energy as possible. The people who draw on this narrative are technologically interested, and it is a bit of a hobby for them to buy new gadgets and see how
much energy they can save:
In principle I don’t think you should compromise to save energy. You should not have less heat or light
and live in cold darkness. But on the other hand I think you should choose smart solutions to help you
consume less. I think it is really cool that new technology can help you save energy and in that way
benefit the environment. (Thomas)
There is still the feeling that we should not give up privileges to save energy, but at the same
time the technical interest in “smart solutions” contributes to an optimization of energy
consumption without having to change behaviour or make compromises.
6.4.
The Right to Consume and Inevitable Consumption
Viewing energy consumption as an individual choice, some informants point out that the
lifestyle they like to uphold just takes a certain amount of energy. They would rather pay extra for energy than compromise their lifestyle. This can be more or less distinct; whereas
Page 22  60
some informants do not want to make any compromises, others prioritise certain things
that they do not want to sacrifice or that they feel like they deserve. Some things can be
more important than saving energy, and people have a certain limit for what they think
would be cutting down too much.
I feel that if I shower for more than 10 minutes then I have to be done because otherwise it is silly, because I really don’t need that. But I want to decide for myself. I don’t want to feel guilty about it because after all I am the one paying for it. (Stine)
As energy consumption is a part of most of people’s everyday practices, people also express
a feeling that it is out of their hands or that it would take too much effort to do something
about it.
I think it works quite well actually. I save where I can, but I don’t want to bother if it gets too complicated. It is nice to be able to turn on the TV without having to put in the plug every time. So when I
feel like it would be too much of a hassle I just don’t. (Camilla)
Consuming energy is an inevitable part of the lives people lead. Generally they seem to express the view that what they do is more or less necessary, definitely normal, and not something luxurious. Even the informants with a high energy consumption compared to their
neighbours (based on sensor data) do not feel like they use more energy than they have to:
I don’t think I can use any less. The TV is not on and this one (the computer) has to be on.
That’s just the way it is. (Lars)
This spoken by the informant with the second-highest consumption according to the consumption data – using more than 2,5 times as much energy as the one with the lowest
measured consumption. There might be a number of different reasons for this, but it is interesting that there seems to be a clear tendency to articulate your own consumption as
normal, making perceptions of how much “normal” is a somewhat self-defined variable,
especially as long as you do not have the opportunity to compare your own consumption
with others’.
What these different narratives tell us is that people articulate energy awareness in very
different ways, but it does not give us any insight into how this relates to people’s actual
consumption patterns. What will be really interesting is to look into how these articulations
Page 23  60
relate to energy consumption and everyday practices (if at all). In the following section, we
shift our focus from narratives to practices, and how practices affect energy consumption.
We argue that while narratives might not have a one-to-one correlation with energy consumption, practices do. Practices influence consumption in profound ways, and as we will
argue in the following section, understanding the different practices that have energy consumption as a consequence requires a holistic approach: viewing these as a set of interrelated and complex practices situated in a particular social setting and affected by various
factors.
Page 24  60
7.
Factors Affecting Energy Consumption
Energy consumption is a consequence of our daily behaviour, so if we want to change energy consumption, one way is to change behaviour. And if you want to change or shape behaviour, you have to understand it first.
Our understanding of behaviour and what shapes it is based on a practice theoretical approach. There are multiple existing definitions of practice (Bourdieu 1977, Reckwitz 2002,
Shove 2003, Warde 2005), but what they all have in common is that they move their focus
from looking at the individual as the centre of analysis, towards understanding the ‘organisation and reorganisation of shared activities and routines’ (Pierce, J. et al. 2013). While
psychology and behavioural economics focus on individual behaviour and motivation in
their analysis, the practice theoretical approach will look at practices as “complex bundles
of activities that invariably involve human (and non-human) participation, but are not constituted solely by or from human intentionality and action” (Schatzki 1996; Reckwitz 2002;
Shove 2003 in ibid.). In other words, what we do is not only shaped by motivation and values but also affected by factors like structure and materiality.
Like Kirsten Gram-Hanssen we understand practices as collectively shared structures of
know-how, institutionalized knowledge, engagements, and technologies, but there should
also be room for individual differences and for seeing rational knowledge input and aspects
of attitudes as part of the explanation of practices (Gram-Hanssen 2009: 155). This means
that our daily practices are shaped and constituted by many different factors of which the
current focus of analysis in psychology and behavioural economics—namely individual behaviour, rationality and motivations—are only a part. This doesn't mean that we do not
look at individual behaviour, but the individuals are interesting to look at as carriers of practices (Schatzki 1996 in Gram-Hanssen 2009) instead of as rational, free, intentional agents
of behaviour.
Furthermore, in the context of understanding energy consumption it is important to state
that we see energy consumption not as a practice in itself, but as an inevitable consequence of or element in different interrelated everyday practices. Inspired by a practice
theoretical approach to understanding energy consumption and insights from empirical
studies of everyday life we have developed the following approach and model that bridges
Page 25  60
insights from the different disciplines in trying to account for the different factors affecting
energy consumption.
7.1.
The Contextual Wheel of Practice
The 'Contextual Wheel of Practice' shown in the figure below is a graphical compilation of
different definitions of the practice theoretical approach. Furthermore, it is inspired by the
analytical concept of Socio-Technical Systems (Kjerulff Petersen 2011). But it also adds to
the current understanding by encompassing levels or factors that are not explicitly mentioned by the definitions of practice above.
The model becomes a graphical outline of how practice theory attempts to mediate between structure and agency, the human and non-human, and the concrete and abstract
factors that shape or constitute our daily practices.
The four quadrants are: 1) Societal structure 2) Infrastructure 3) Materiality 4) Values and
Knowledge.
Page 26  60
The four quadrants deal with different 'groupings' of factors: 1) Societal Structure and 2) Infrastructure deal with the structural factors that shape our practices, such as norms, institutions, legislation on the one hand and distribution and production of energy on the other.
These two quadrants contain the structures that will often be shared by a group of people,
whose lives will be structured by shared factors. The actor level or the individual factors
that shape our practices are 3) Materiality, such as things, technologies, and apparatuses in
particular when we try to understand energy consumption, but also e.g. architecture, and
4) Values and Knowledge, which are personal and internalised, but also very much grounded in and affected by shared culture.
Furthermore, the Contextual Wheel of Practice divides our factors into two other groupings; Infrastructure and Near Materiality cover the material and very concrete group of fac-
Page 27  60
tors that shape our practices – Societal Structure and Values and Knowledge entails the
group of 'human' factors that shape our practices on different levels. Thus the Contextual
Wheel of Practice also mediates and encompasses factors from both the very concrete and
the very abstract realms as significant factors that both constitute and help us understand
the practices that have energy consumption as their consequence.
The four quadrants are highly interdependent, such that e.g. the state of infrastructure will
very much rely on the state of institutions and legislation, and legislation will depend on
values and knowledge of the individual, but also on e.g. technological advances.
The Contextual Wheel of Practice helps us see what shapes practices and thus how changes
in practices can occur through changes in any of the four quadrants. Having said this, many
factors are in play when it comes to shaping our behaviour and because we also argue that
the different factors are interrelated and don't just affect our practice, but also each other,
the introduction of change will never be a simple cause and effect process. Furthermore,
introducing changes in one quadrant may not have the intended effect, because the practice in mind may have been more significantly affected and structured by elements from
other quadrants.
Page 28  60
8.
Understanding Consumption in the Dorm
8.1.
Time and Money
In the interviews, time and money are two central focus points in the way all residents describe their lives, and the way they frame what is possible or desirable to them. They are all
students with limited budgets, and they express money as a central concern to them. When
talking to them explicitly about energy consumption, the economic aspect is always rather
prevalent, and energy consumption is definitely not something they enjoy spending money
on. It is, however, uncertain whether money is actually what affects them the most in relation to their energy behaviour, or if it is just the parameter easiest to describe.
Another major issue is time. The residents at the dorm lead active, busy lives, trying to juggle studies, part-time jobs, exercise, hobbies, and friends. They are very engaged in the different projects that they undertake, and are very aware of how they spend their time. As
most of them live alone, we could make the assumption that it would be easy for them to
be flexible and move around different activities, such as cooking. However, it turns out they
do not feel that cooking is a flexible activity. Cooking cannot just be moved a couple of
hours without it affecting a range of other activities. The idea of rearranging the schedule
of activities to change energy consumption is articulated as unacceptable, and our informants seem somewhat reluctant to take on additional activities in relation to moving or reducing their energy consumption if it is something that will “cost” them time.
8.2.
Different Consumption Profiles
The residents at the Grundfos Dormitory Lab live in practically identical apartments, but still
their consumption patterns vary. These differences might to some extent be traced back to
the different values and levels of energy awareness, but this is only part of the explanation.
Building on the description of the Contextual Wheel of Practice, the residents have a shared
infrastructure and societal structure but different values and near materiality, which contribute to the different consumption patterns we see.
Page 29  60
As described in the section “Different Articulations of Energy Awareness”, respondents articulate their energy behaviour and energy awareness in many different ways, ranging from
“taking care of the earth for future generations” to “I have a right to consume” or “consumption is inevitable”. They also have different appliances and devices in their apartments,
as well as different practices and routines that contribute to their individual “consumption
profile”1
8.3.
A Holistic Perspective and Energy Choices
One of the central insights from the interviews is that people tend to see (or at least articulate) their practices in relation to energy consumption in a holistic perspective. Using energy is a necessary part of making their daily lives work, and within this frame our informants
allow themselves to consume energy on the things they value, while saving in the areas less
important to them.
A consequence of understanding energy consumption through a practice theoretical approach such as the Contextual Wheel of Practice is the inevitable shift from looking at people as energy consumers, to looking at people as human beings who engage in different
1
Appendix 2 gives an overview of the equipment in each of the apartments
Page 30  60
practices that have energy consumption as a consequence. In their daily lives, the residents
have all made different choices, both consciously and unconsciously, about when to be energy aware. These ‘energy choices’ are very much related to their daily routines and what
they value in their lives and to which practices they consciously or unconsciously choose to
prioritise to make their daily lives work and maintain their quality of life. Some might want
to take a hot shower for 20 minutes every morning but never turn on the oven or the TV,
and others might use the oven every morning to heat up rolls and leave the TV on for most
of the day. What matters to the residents is the overall consumption and whether this is
considered reasonable and ‘normal’.
Liv, for instance, boils an egg on her stove every morning. She knows this uses energy and
that she could boil more eggs at once to save energy, but she does not do that:
I boil an egg on my stove every morning. I know I could boil more eggs at the time to save
energy, but I just don’t. I know pretty well how to do things “correctly” from an energy perspective, but I might not always do it!… My overall consumption is not too high to begin
with so I feel like I can allow myself an egg in the morning. (Liv)
As Liv clearly states, this is not about lack of knowledge, and more information probably
would not make her change her behaviour. She knows that it would be better to boil more
eggs at once, and it could be done quite easily, but this would not give her the same value,
so she chooses to do it anyways because it is something she values and she feels that it is
balanced out by the fact that she considers her overall consumption to be low.
8.4.
The Non-Negotiability of (Some) Practices
Energy consumption and CO2 footprints can seem to be very far removed from people’s everyday lives. It is the by-product of a range of daily practices that are valued and prioritised
differently by the residents but it is not something that they think about explicitly on a daily
basis.
It is one thing to know what the correct behaviour is from an energy perspective, it is another to know what is acceptable to me in my daily life in relation to my different practices
and values, and also what is possible for me from a material and infrastructural perspective.
Page 31  60
This is crucial to understand when we wish to engage residents in different interventions.
We need to make it possible for them to choose the areas that are acceptable to them, involving factors they will be willing and able to change.
The ones less energy aware, like Peter, feel like they have the right to consume
energy and do not want to compromise their comfort in order to save:
In some ways I am quite a hedonist, as long as I have the money and the means I would rather ”feel
good” than worry about saving and compromise my comfort. I never understood why, of course there
is a limit to everything, but why should I save and compromise my own satisfaction? I just want to
“feel good” rather than worry about if it costs me 5 kr. or 30 kr. (Peter)
Energy consumption is not really something he thinks about in his daily life, and he does
not feel guilty about that. He expects it to be there when he needs it, and is willing to pay
the cost. But even the ones with very green values, like Stine, have several other concerns/values affecting their behaviour, and we need to take these into account in order to
develop sustainable solutions that can help reduce their CO2 footprint.
Stine uses her oven every morning to heat up rolls. She takes them straight from the freezer and puts them into the oven; because that is the way she likes them. When asked about
why she does this instead of using a toaster or let them thaw out during the night, she argues that from an environmental perspective it actually makes sense to continue this practice instead of buying a toaster, because the production and distribution of the toaster
would entail CO2 emissions greater than the ones caused by heating rolls in the oven every
morning. This justification, however, is probably not what she tells herself every morning.
Her doing this is more about her valuing this particular practice and prioritising to spend
energy to obtain it (and maybe not really seeing an alternative).
Heating up the rolls in the oven can be understood as a non-negotiable practice (Strengers
2011). Stine is not willing to change this practice (even though it results in substantial energy consumption, and she is considering herself to be energy aware.) She justifies it with an
explanation about it making sense in the bigger picture. That may or may not be true, but
the bottom line is that this is something she will continue doing, despite the consumption it
entails – because it gives her great value.
Page 32  60
There is an element to this practice of wanting to feel good and comfortable in your own
home. As described earlier, the home (apartment) is viewed as a secure base where residents go to relax and recharge:
You feel a bit guilty about turning up the heat, but on the other hand you don’t want to feel like you
have to freeze your ass off every time you get home. So usually I end up with some sort of compromise where I turn up the heat a bit but I also put on extra clothes or crawl under a blanket. (Stine)
The different practices that have energy consumption as a consequence can all be seen as
part of a balancing act of making their daily lives work and maintaining a certain quality of
life. In some cases, residents are not willing to give up or change the practices associated
with different daily routines because they have great value to them. In relation to these
non-negotiable practices our focus in an intervention could be to help them obtain these
services in a more sustainable way or to target other negotiable practices instead.
What these negotiable and non-negotiable practices might be to any one particular individual will be different, but we argue that it will be depend on the value and interrelatedness
of the given practices. Based on the interviews, a fair conclusion could be that laundry is
more negotiable than cooking. This, however, does not necessarily make it easier to change.
As we will show in the following section, laundry is more strongly regulated from a structural perspective and therefore difficult to change. It is important that we try to understand
these differences because they affect the range of options we have to impact change. In
the next section, we will elaborate further on what this understanding means in terms of
flexibility potential and our potential future interventions.
Page 33  60
9.
Flexibility Potential
If we want to change the practices related to energy consumption we need to understand
these practices, how they are related to each other, and how the residents ascribe meaning
to them. Looking at the way people articulate their energy consumption, it seems that the
more value ascribed to the services connected to a certain practice and the more it is interconnected with other practices and daily routines, the harder it will be to change.
When working with flexibility in relation to energy, some types of consumption are more
relevant than others. When the VPP4SGR project talks about shifting energy consumption,
what is meant is a shift that makes sense for the grid. But when we talk about shifting energy consumption from a user perspective, there are other relevant factors to take into account. As described in the previous section, when attempting to change behaviour, the
amount of energy involved is not the only relevant factor. It is important to also consider to
what degree people feel able to move or change the practices associated with that consumption, which again is related to the value ascribed to the services obtained through
these practices and their relation to other practices and daily routines. Determining what
Page 34  60
types of energy consumption should be shifted therefore needs to be defined not only from
a load or energy perspective but also from a practice perspective.
The residents at the Grundfos Dormitory Lab generally feel that their consumption is already limited and that they do not have that many practices to move around:
Offhand I don’t think I would change that much. Because my day works really well as it is,
and I don’t feel like I use a lot of energy. I think that if I found out that I used a lot I might
look more into how much energy I use to heat up the oven or how much the TV uses on
standby. (Camilla)
In the interviews the residents were asked specifically about their cooking and laundry
practices and how they could be flexible in relation to these practices. The responses they
gave clearly exemplify the need to understand energy consumption as part of practices that
are both interrelated (cooking) and influenced by structural factors (laundry) that they
themselves are not able to change.
9.1.
Cooking
We assume that cooking is one of the most energy-consuming practices in the residents’
daily lives, and therefore also very interesting to us in trying to reduce or shift their consumption. Furthermore, cooking is part of the so-called ‘cooking spike’ across Denmark,
which strains the grid, making it interesting to look at from a grid perspective. In the graphs
of their actual energy consumption (shown in the figure below) we see a six o’clock peak,
even though it might not be as significant as for other types of energy consumers (e.g. single family houses). The blue line indicates the average consumption of the respondents, the
orange line shows the respondent with the highest consumption and the green line shows
the respondent with the lowest consumption.
Page 35  60
We initially assumed that the residents would be interested in the possibility of eating together (because they live in a dorm) or that it would be rather unproblematic for them to
move their cooking time (because they live alone). As described earlier, this turned out to
not be the case for several reasons:
1. Cooking is not an isolated practice but needs to be understood as part of a
bigger practice nexus that constitutes their daily lives. It needs to be understood as a socially situated practice that is both highly valued and very closely linked to other practices.
2. The residents are not interested in activities that are too structured. They
want to be able to choose when to be ‘social’, and when to be by themselves. They do not want something binding that will feel like it is restricting
them.
So any intervention with the goal of encouraging group meal preparation or shifting cooking time is perceived as something that would be hard for the residents to commit to, because it would limit their freedom of choice, and they would want it to be on a more ad hoc
basis.
Page 36  60
Informants also state very explicitly that when it comes to cooking, energy consumption is
not a major concern. They know that this practice consumes quite a lot of energy, but they
do not really see how that can be changed in any significant way — even for the energy
aware ones — without compromising what they are trying to obtain. In that sense, cooking
can be understood as a non-negotiable practice. The residents choose to use energy to obtain this service and maybe save elsewhere;
I don’t think we use too much energy in general. And then this (cooking) is one of the things we prioritise. And I don’t see it as something where I can do very much. Then it would be eating something
different than what we want. And then there is a limit where I say it is important to us that we cook
and eat together and then saving energy is not our number one priority. (Miriam)
Some describe having developed certain habits that support greener cooking, but it is not
something they very actively think about:
I think more about what I cook than how much energy I consume. But I have managed to
get some habits like using the electric boiler to heat up water, and plan my cooking so I
leave the oven on for as short a period as possible - and I always use lids on my pots. But
still, these things are secondary to the cooking. (Kasper)
9.2.
Laundry
Another major energy consuming practice is doing laundry. Whereas eating can be difficult
for people to shift due to its interconnectedness with other everyday practices, laundry is a
more simple or detached practice, and therefore might be easier to change. Either having
the option of a postponed start on the washer or allowing people who go to bed late to do
their laundry during the night would not only shift the load; it could also give the residents
a greater sense of freedom:
Personally, I am interested in the laundry room being open as much as possible so you can
adjust you washing times the way that fits your daily schedule. (Kasper)
Definitely. … I don’t know if I would get up at 2, but we don’t go to bed before
midnight, so to me it would not make a difference if I do laundry at 4pm or 11pm.
(Miriam)
Page 37  60
But regardless of the potentials of encouraging people to do their laundry during night time,
and people’s willingness to do so, there are structural obstacles that make such an initiative
impossible. There are apartments located right above the laundry room, and the residents
living there would be bothered by the noise generated by the machines if people were doing laundry at late hours. Therefore it has been decided by the residents’ board that the
laundry room is only open during the day.
Another aspect of the laundry practice is drying the clothes. At the Grundfos Dorm, there is
nowhere to hang your clothes up to dry, so people have to use the dryer. As most of our informants point out, both washing (15 kr. per wash) and tumble drying (0,25 kr per minute)
is quite expensive, and it also seems odd that the residents at a green profile dorm are dependent on an electric dryer. Some residents do dry their clothes in their apartments, but
this is not very good for the indoor climate due to the increased humidity, and drying
clothes in the apartments is against the house rules. Quite a few also bring their laundry
home to their parents to try to work around this inconvenient, expensive, and energy consuming lock-in.
9.3.
Indoor Climate
Indoor climate is something most residents mention during interviews. It is articulated as
something that has to do with the building more than something that has to do with consuming energy. The building is well-insulated and many state that they do not have to turn
on the heat very often, which they view as a positive thing.
Some complain that their apartments get really hot in the summer time. It is difficult to
ventilate the rooms, because it is not allowed to open the windows very far. There has
been incidents with windows falling off their hinges due to the heavy winds!
Indoor climate is articulated more as a matter of infrastructure, rather than something the
residents can do very much to change themselves. A few (e.g., Stine p. 32) state trying to
balance turning up the heat and putting on extra clothes to obtain the comfort they want
without using too much energy.
Page 38  60
9.4.
Entertainment
When it comes to entertainment, like watching TV, playing computer games, or listening to
the radio, these services are related to other activities and valued and practiced differently
by the residents.
Some informants watch TV alone in their apartment in the evening to relax, or leave it running in the background. Ida explains how she uses the TV in her apartment:
I have a habit of watching TV in the evening and then set the timer on one hour to fall
asleep. Then I fall asleep and it runs for another 45 minutes without anyone watching it. So
the TV is probably where I use the most. I also sometimes leave it running just to listen to it
– without really watching it. …I think I save where I can and my overall consumption is not
high so I probably would not turn the TV off to save more. (Mie)
I have the radio on all day (on the weekends) It just plays in the background, so there is a little company when you are alone. Or if there is handball the TV is on and then that is what I
listen to. (Eva)
Some informants spend hours playing computer games, and value this greatly. Even if they
know this uses a lot of energy they would rather change other practices.
At one point I really used a lot. I got a big extra bill. But that only happened once. Then I
borrowed one of those things you can put in the plug to see how much the different things
use... But I do think about it. Especially when the oven is on, I can hear it in the speakers (on
the computer) when I turn it on (Lars)
Lars plays games on his computer for about two hours on weekdays, and up to six hours
each day on the weekend. Still he does not think about cutting down his use of the computer to save energy. Instead he tries to use the oven less because he feels it is easier for
him to do without that than without the computer.
As these examples show, entertainment as a service is used in many different ways for different reasons. It might not be very closely linked to specific times of the day, but it is highly valued and therefore people state being more willing to change other activities to save
energy, or get around the issue by choosing devices that consume less energy while maintaining the same behaviour.
Page 39  60
9.5.
Lighting
Lighting is one of the areas where most of the residents say they think about saving by turning off the light when they leave a room. This is something they carry with them from their
upbringing, where parents have told them over and over again not to leave the lights on.
On the other hand, some also express the need for lighting as a service to maintain a certain comfort level:
I don’t really need light over there, but I just think it is nice. It makes it a little bit more cosy,
so I keep it on most of the time. Not during the day, but times like now (late afternoon).
Interviewer: And that is more important than saving energy?
Light and surroundings really affect my mood. I like it to have a nice, warm and cosy feel inhere, even if it might result in an extra charge. Then I save on something else. I light some
candles instead, sometimes, that gives heat as well, and then I guess it evens out in the end.
(Sara)
Page 40  60
10.
Potential Roads Ahead
So where does all this leave us? How should we design our future interventions, and how
do we engage the residents to get them to commit to these interventions? What is even
possible for us from a more structural perspective?
10.1.
Money and Information
The (narrative) focus on money as a central driver for behaviour change will definitely be an
interesting aspect for further investigation. Other studies (e.g. Opower) show that while
people might state money as a primary driver when asked “What would make you change
behaviour?” this is not the case when tested in practice.
The residents at the Grundfos Dormitory Lab generally feel that their consumption is already limited and that they do not have that much to shift around. We need to show them
that small changes make a difference in the long run (if that is the case). A lot of the respondents point to information as the key when we asked directly what would make them
change their behaviour. They would like more information about their consumption, so
they could make more informed decisions on where and how to reduce.
I would like to get more information to be more aware of what I do and how I can make a
difference. Both to myself, but also in general what difference it would make in the big picture if I reduce my consumption. (Sara)
Many of the residents state that they do not know how to act more sustainably and that
they would like more information about their consumption, both concerning the individual
practices that consume energy (such as “How much energy do I use when I turn on the oven for 40 minutes?”) as well as their overall consumption (such as “How do I compare to
others? What is a normal consumption?”) in order to get a better understanding of where
they can reduce and what the effects would be.
10.2.
Contextual Practice Change
Using information to change behaviour is one possible direction, but then we also need to
address what the information should be about; at what level should the information be given, how can we draw on the social dimensions of knowledge (norms) as well, and how can
Page 41  60
we relate it concretely to practice? Not all residents will perceive information in the same
way. Information will be contextualized differently according to norms, individual values,
near materiality, and infrastructure.
As we have shown with the Contextual Wheel of Practice, there are a lot of different factors
affecting consumption. Some have to do with behaviour, while others are more structural.
When it comes to laundry, people would probably be willing to change behaviour and do
their laundry at different times, but this is not possible, simply because the laundry room is
only open during the day! In our interventions we need to also be aware of these types of
material or infrastructural factors that might limit our scope to impact change.
If we take Sara as an example, she would like more information on how to save energy. But
anything does not go. As we quote her in the section above (page 39), light is something
that is really important to her and she probably would not change her lighting practices
even if we gave her information saying that this would help reduce her consumption, minimise her costs, or benefit the environment. For Sara, lighting is a non-negotiable practice.
She might get information that she spends 30% of her energy consumption on lighting,
while the average resident only spends 20%, but because she values lighting as a service
very highly, she would probably be willing to “overspend” in this area. She could then maybe be encouraged to reduce her consumption by choosing different light bulbs, thereby
changing the near materiality, but allowing her to maintain the same behaviour and comfort level. Another scenario could be that she continues her practice in relation to the use
of light, but gets information on how to reduce other types of consumption associated with
practices and services less important to her.
So information is never just information. The feedback we provide needs to be contextualised and related to practice in a very concrete way. We should try to support the individual
interpretations and choices by giving several alternatives for action, and maybe also making
it more about practice and less about value. Our interventions need to communicate to residents as the ‘practitioners’ that they are, and not just inform them about the energy consuming consequences of their practices and services. We need to give them concrete guidelines for how to change practices; what should they do instead of what they are doing now?
They need practical recommendations that can help guide their actions, taking context and
materiality into account. We should also give the residents the possibility to act on different
Page 42  60
levels. We should not expect them all to have “perfect” energy behaviour, but allow for different levels of engagement and leave room for them to make individual choices regarding
how to get engaged, in which areas to get engaged with, and to what extent.
Page 43  60
11.
References
Akrich, M. 1992. “The De-Scription of Technical Objects” In Bijker, W., and J. Law, eds. Shaping Technology/Building Society: Studies in Sociotechnical Change. Cambridge/London: MIT Press.
Bates, Oliver et al. 2012: Accounting for Energy-Reliant Services Within Everyday Life at Home. Proceeding Pervasive'12 Proceedings of the 10th international conference on Pervasive Computing Pages 107-124 SpringerVerlag Berlin, Heidelberg ©
Bourdieu, P. 1977. Outline of a Theory of Practice, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gram-Hanssen, K. 2009. Standby Consumption in Households Analyzed with a Practice Theoretical Approach. Journal of Industrial Ecology 14(1) 150-165
Kjerulff Petersen 2011 Livsstilsbegrebet – i miljøsociologisk perspektiv. Dansk Sociologi 2 (22), 31 - 45
Kvale, Steinar 1996: Interviews: an introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, Calif. Sage
Publications.
Pierce, J., Strengers, Y., Sengers, P., and Bødker, S. 2013. Introduction to the special issue on practice-oriented approaches to sustainable HCI. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 20, 4, Article 20, 1-8
Reckwitz, A. 2002 Toward a theory of social prac- tices. European Journal of Social Theory 5(2): 243– 263.
Shove, E 2003: Comfort, Cleanliness and Convenience. The Social Organisation of Normality. Berg. Oxford, UK
Strengers, Yolande 2011. Designing Eco-Feedback Systems for Everyday Life. In Proc. CHI 2011, ACM press, 21352144
Warde, A. 2005: Consumption and theories of practice. Journal of Consumer Culture 5 (2): 131-153.
Page 44  60
12.
Appendix 1: Informant Overview
Thomas
Attitude towards the
community
Participates in social events (e.g. parties). Is in the common room approximately once a month. Due to a couple of events just for them, he knows
the people on his own floor, but he does not talk to all of them. He feels
that there are about 5 people at the dorm that he knows a better than the
others. He is fond of the Grundfos Dorm and the social life there. He is
aware that the social community would probably emerge more automatically if he was living in a traditional dorm, but he still would not trade for
this.
Energy awareness
Thinks about his energy consumption when he buys new technology, but
does not think about his day-to-day consumption. He agrees that we should
try to save the earth, but states that we also have to use energy to get forward. Therefore he makes conscious choices so that he does not have to
think about his consumption on a daily basis. Rather than human change in
behaviour (compromising our standards), it takes technological, optimising
solutions to make a difference, and he feels that energy is supposed to be
invisible and available. It is important to manage the energy consumption in
an intelligent way. He wants to save energy if it is easy, and he thinks that it
is stupid if for instance things are using energy while he is away for a longer
period of time.
Page 45  60
Jannie
Attitude towards the
community
Thinks that the Grundfos Dorm is the best place in the world, and she prefers socialising with people there to spending time with her fellow students.
She is part of the very social group at the dorm, and is also a member of
one of the social dining clubs plus several social Facebook groups. She has a
very close relationship with the people in the social group, and she compares it to when she went to continuation school. She feels that absence of
common facilities at the dorm is the reason why the community is working
so well. She is, however, a bit bothered by the fact that there are only 30
people who hang out in the common room.
Energy awareness
She thinks that it is great that the dorm has a green profile and feels that
she is becoming more energy aware, just by living there. She does not really
think about her energy consumption in her day-to-day-life, and for instance
she does not think that it makes a difference to her consumption if she
could monitor it. She relates this to also never checking her bank accounts
via online banking – her consumption just is the way it is, with the good and
bad habits this entails. She thinks that people can make a difference individually, e.g. by shopping organic groceries. She is energy aware because of
a guilty conscience towards the earth.
Page 46  60
Liv
Attitude towards the
community
Likes to live amongst students, but is not very social at the dorm. She knows
some of the residents from university, but other than that she does not really know people at the dorm. When she is at home she prefers to be alone
– talking to everybody is something she does elsewhere. She says hello to
her neighbours, but she has not made any new friends living at the dorm.
She hangs out with her friends from university when they are there, so they
actually spend very little time together at the dorm. She feels that it is a bit
of a pity that there are not communal kitchens, because then people would
get to know each other there. On the other hand, she also likes having her
own apartment. Had she not known anybody at the dorm when she moved
in, she probably would have tried to get to know people there.
Energy awareness
She does not know how much energy her things consume, but she feels
guilty if, for instance, she forgets to unplug her chargers. The guilty conscience is about being a good person, being good to the environment, and
saving money. She conserves energy where it is not too bothersome. Even
though she feels that essentially she knows what the correct energy behaviour is, she does not always act accordingly. This is partly due to the fact
that fundamentally she does think her energy consumption is very high.
When buying new products, she takes interest in how much energy they
use.
Page 47  60
Lise
Attitude towards the
community
Likes that there is both a social community at the dorm, and she can also be
by herself. She explains that people are very open, and if people are sitting
in the common room when you go up there, you automatically start talking.
She knows a lot of the residents from school, and there are also a couple of
people from her hometown living at the dorm. One of them she was friends
with before, but the others she only really got to know at the dorm. The rest
of the residents she primarily talks to at the parties etc. She goes to the
common room max once a month, e.g. to watch a movie or very rarely to
eat there.
Energy awareness
Her conception of energy has very much to do with economy and convenience. She saves energy where she can, but she does want it getting too
bothersome. She unplugs her television when she goes away for the weekend, but leaves it plugged in the rest of the time. She is aware that it takes a
lot of energy to heat up a single bun in the oven, but it is not something that
keeps her from doing it.
Kristina
Attitude towards the
community
She is one of the very social people. Participates very much in the social activities, and does committee work. She sees the people at the dorm as her
primary social circle in Aarhus. This is also very convenient, as she does not
spend a lot of time at the university. She is in the common room at least 2-3
times a week, and she also spends a lot of time with her neighbour. She
feels that there are 20 people at the dorm who are her friends, and then
there are maybe 20 others who she always says hello to, and who sometimes hang out in the common room.
Page 48  60
Energy awareness
Unplugs things because it is stupid if they are just using energy – that does
after all mount up on a yearly basis. She has become better at turning things
off after she moved away from home, especially lights (she does not just
leave them on because it is pleasant), but also other things when she is not
using them, or they are done charging. She was also brought up with these
ideas, but she did not really follow them. She prioritises where to save and
where to just use as much energy as it takes (such as having a freezer and
then being aware of unplugging things in return).
Mie
Attitude towards the
community
Has not made it to any social events yet, but thinks that it could be nice to
be part of something. On the other hand she has chosen this place to be
able to be by herself, and she does not have a need to spend a lot of time
with people from the dorm. She prioritises being together with people from
her old dorm. She has chit-chatted with a couple of people in the elevator,
but she feels that there are so many people living at the dorm that it is too
hard to keep track of who lives where.
Energy awareness
She was brought up with unplugging things, turning things off at the switch,
and not taking showers that are too long. She is pretty aware of her energy
consumption, but in many ways turning things off is also just a habit. Her
television is on standby because it is plugged to the same outlet as the
clock radio, which would always have to be reset if she unplugged it. She
does not think about energy that much, and it is not something that could
make her change her behaviour. The energy saving things she does are
more about saving money than about saving energy.
Page 49  60
Mikkel
Attitude towards the
community
Took part in the social life to begin with, but then he got busy with his studies. Now he only goes to the common room every once in a while, and he
takes part in the social events at the dorm. He feels that he has more in
common with the people at university, and he feels that he has quite
enough friends there. He finds a safety in living at the dorm because people
share the problems there.
Energy awareness
Feels that he is pretty aware of his consumption, as he for instance does
not leave things on standby and he knows that is takes quite a bit of energy
to leave things turned on for longer durations of time. Therefore he does
not feel that things should be turned on when he is away for a longer period. If things are turned on when there is no need for it, it is gluttonous. This
awareness very much comes from his upbringing. He feels that we might as
well save, when we have the energy and opportunity for it. He mentions
the environment as a motivator, but also points to economy as a possible
incitement for students to change their habits.
Kasper
Attitude towards the
community
Rarely uses the common room and feels that he is living in an apartment rather than at a dorm. He is aware that he could be taking more initiative and
go to the common room, but he feels that it is harder to connect with people here than at his former dorm where they shared a kitchen. At the
Grundfos Dorm life is more individual. At the same time, he likes having his
own kitchen. He does not have much time to socialize at the Grundfos
Dorm, because he is busy with his studies, and his friends are outside the
dorm. He does not go to the dorm events very often, but there is a few
people that he talks to, when he does go.
Page 50  60
Energy awareness
Is a big fan of innovation, research, and environmental awareness. He is
aware of his energy consumption due to common environmental consciousness, but he also thinks that he would be more aware of it, if it made
up a bigger part of the rent. He turns his computer off and things like that
because of environmental awareness, but when it comes to lighting, he
chooses to ignore the energy consequences as comfort and atmosphere are
his main priorities there. He tries to be energy conserving in his behaviour
(e.g. when cooking he thinks about boiling water in the kettle, putting multiple things in the oven at a time, putting a lid on the pots, etc.), but in
some situations the need or the purpose of the action still takes priority –
for instance when he is cooking or showering. He reduces his energy consumption by being a vegetarian and through an energy-saving power strip.
In addition to the environment, he also cares about economic aspects of his
consumption, but there are a lot of situations where the goal outweighs the
price.
Page 51  60
Sara
Attitude towards the
community
Is part of the very social group, but is not able to spend much time with
them. Spent a lot of time with people at the dorm to initially but since her
school started, it has only been once a week. She cannot commit to a social
dining club, but thinks that it is nice that she always knows that there is
someone in the common room on Sundays. Does committee work. She
knows at least one person on each floor. Even though she does not hang
out with someone from the dorm every day, they see each other daily – for
instance by popping in with one of her neighbours. She likes that people do
not generally visit each other in the apartments, but just hang out in the
common room. In that way, the interaction is always optional. She appreciates the opportunity to be around people who study something different
than her. She thinks it is a pity that so many people are not part of the social community.
Energy awareness
Finds it interesting to be able to monitor one’s own consumption. She turns
everything off when she is going to be away for a while, but normally things
are just on standby. She knows that she ought to turn it off always, but she
forgets to do it, and it would also make everything a bit more bothersome.
Likes to have her consumption put in a bigger perspective. Prioritises having
lights on, but in return she can economise on the heating because the building is so well insulated.
Lars
Attitude towards the
community
Does not hang out in the common room, but has been to all the dorm
events, as he finds this to be important. One of his friends has just moved
to the dorm, so he spends time with him, and sometimes he also says hello
to the other residents.
Page 52  60
Energy awareness
Sometime he thinks about how much energy e.g. his desktop computer and
the oven use, but generally he does feel that he could consume less, and he
is not willing to sacrifice the use of his desktop computer. Seeing as he only
uses the things he needs, he does not feel that he has an overconsumption. He does, however, sometimes forget to turn off the cooking
plates, which is a waste of money. He generally unplugs things (e.g. the microwave) and thinks about how much he uses the oven in order to save
money.
Stine
Attitude towards the
community
Does not really use the common areas. There is not enough room and there
is a certain “dominant group” that has a strong presence, which she does
not see herself as part of. In addition, she has been busy with her studies, so
she has not had the time or energy to get involved. She is socially engaged
outside the dorm, and spends time as a volunteer in an NGO (IBIS).
Energy awareness
She considers herself energy aware. Her energy awareness is closely coupled with a social awareness and a desire to protect the planet for future
generations. Energy is not just electricity, but also the way different goods
are produced and distributed and she tries as far as possible to buy organic
and locally produced goods.
It’s just about not spending more than you need, that’s the way I see it. Then
in principle it does not really matter how much you use, if it is just 0,01 W
too much if you don’t need it!!
Page 53  60
Peter
Attitude towards the
community
Very much engaged in the social life at the dorm. Spends time with other
people at the dorm almost every day and uses the common room 3-4 times
a week. Part of the residents’ board and involved in planning different types
of social events. He likes to get involved in the dormitory boards, because
he does not want other people to make decisions on his behalf.
Energy awareness
Energy awareness is not high on his list of priorities. He has a more pragmatic approach. He does not want to make compromises or sacrifices to reduce consumption. He wants quality and comfort and is willing to pay for
that, but he is also aware not to ”waste” energy, because that is just stupid.
He wants technically smart solutions that can help him reduce energy in an
easy way without compromising comfort. He uses LED lighting because it
gives the best light and is a smart way to reduce consumption
Morten
Attitude towards the community
Is part of the self-proclaimed ”very social” group at the dorm. Spends time
in the common room almost every day, cooking, doing homework or
watching TV. Also part of (an exclusive) social dinning club that meets once
a week.
Energy awareness
Mostly thinks about his energy consumption when he gets his bill. Not at
all something he thinks about every day. Knows his consumption is probably above average because he has a lot of gadgets in his room, but as long
as these bring value to him and his consumption is not too high it does not
bother him
Page 54  60
Line
Attitude towards the
community
Uses the common areas from time to time (maybe every other week) but
also spends a lot of her spare time outside the dorm with friends or her
boyfriend. Participates in most parties and social events and is also engaged
in both the residents’ council and party planning committee. Likes the dorm
and the people living here, but just does not have the time to see them
more.
Energy awareness
Cares about the environment and tries to keep her energy consumption
low and avoid standby consumption. Being energy aware was part of her
upbringing and she tries to remember to to turn off the light and pull out
the plugs when she does not use them. She does not feel like she uses a lot
of energy, and is very surprised to find that her consumption is above average.
Anne
Attitude towards
When she first moved in, she was very engaged in the social activities and
the community
used the common room a lot, but after starting school, she spends more
time with people there and nor so much time at the dorm. When she is
home, she likes to spend time by herself to relax.
Energy awareness
Feels like she should care more, but she does not. She has a sense that
she might become more energy aware as she gets older, but for now it is
not a major concern of hers.
..I am just a young girl who likes to party, drink beer and have fun
Page 55  60
Lise
Attitude towards the
community
Spends more time with old friends and people from school than other people at the dorm. When she is here, she is mostly by herself in her room.
Some of the people she goes to school with also live at the dorm, and she
mostly spends time with them – especially her study partner who lives right
next door.
Energy awareness
Does not think about her energy consumption very much. She turns off
things when she leaves the room but other than that, it is not something
she worries about. There is no reason to leave things on when she is not
here, it is a waste and bad for the environment, and that is wrong.
It is not so much about saving money, it is more the fact that from and environmental perspective there is not really any reason that I should use energy when I don’t
need to, if you can call it that,
Eva
Attitude towards the
community
Was more socially engaged in the beginning. Still uses the common room
once or twice a week and is part of the ”tirsdagsmadklub” (Tuesday dinner
club). Really likes the fact that you can just go up to the common room and
then there is always someone to talk to – even if she does not use it as
much as she used to, it is still nice to know that you have the opportunity.
Energy awareness
Does not think too much about it, because she knows that she does not use
a lot. Uses LED lighting and tries to save energy where it is least important
to her (e.g., laundry), mostly to save money.
Page 56  60
Malene
Attitude towards the
community
Does not use the common room as much as some of the other residents.
Had a busy semester, but might start using more now that she has the time.
Likes that something is always going on so if you feel like it you can just go
up and join people. Feels this is part of what makes the dorm special.
Energy awareness
When she first moved out – she was very aware of her consumption because she did not want to spend money on energy
Now comfort more important – nor willing to be cold or take only short
showers.
Mette
Attitude towards the
community
Does not really take part in the social life at the dorm. She has only used the
common room a couple of times with some people from school. So for her,
it might as well have been a regular apartment instead of a dorm. She does
not feel the need to get very involved with the other residents, but stays
updated through Facebook – and exchanged keys with a guy on her floor,
so they can let each other in if they get locked out.
Energy awareness
States that she really does not know much about energy. It is hard to understand how much different things use or what to do to use less. She
thinks it is easier to relate to water because you can see how much you use
and also she is more aware that people in different part of the world does
not have pure drinking water, so it is selfish to use too much.
She does not want to waste energy but is not willing to compromise too
much. She makes the food she wants and turns up the heat when she gets
cold.
Page 57  60
Miriam
Attitude towards the
community
Does not really take part in the social life at the dorm. She is older than
most of the other residents, (Lives with her husband), has a lot of friends
from before she moved here. She does however still feel that there is a
community, she feels a sense of responsibility towards her fellow residents
at the dorm and likes the fact that it is more engaging than a regular apartment building even though she does not have the time or the energy to be
actively engaged.
Energy awareness
Is interested in saving energy. She has tried to find out how much her individual appliances use in order optimise her consumption but she thinks it is
difficult.
She does not mind that saving energy is also saving money, but it is also
part of a bigger picture. She wants to be a kind of person that contributes to
reducing the overall energy consumption. She believes that you should not
use more than you really need, and also limits her consumption by choosing
to live in a small apartment.
Page 58  60
13.
Appendix 2: Inventory of Electrical Devices in the Apartments
All apartments include: refrigerator (with a small freezer), kitchen range, range hood, lamps,
oven.
Thomas: 3 x speakers, 1 x subwoofer, Apple TV (used to stream wireless sound to the
speakers), iPad, 3 x iPhone (some used as remote controls), MacBook Air, Robot floor
washer (iRobot Mint), 3 x Philips Hue light bulbs. LED-light that can change color, Philips
Hue base station, 2 x regular LED light bulbs, NAS (for storage of data – is on 24/7), Linksys
wireless router, TV, electrical toothbrush, DAB-radio, microwave oven, 23" screen for the
computer, projector (rarely used).
Jannie:
hand blender, toaster, kettle, hairdryer, straightening iron, TV, router, computer,
iPhone
Liv: computer, speakers, iPhone (+charger), microwave oven, kettle, hand mixer, iPad, hair
straightener
Camilla:
freezer, vacuum cleaner, kettle, microwave oven, TV + DVD, router, radio, hand
mixer x2, blender, coffee maker, toaster, MacBook, phone + charger, hairdryer, hair
straightener, curling iron
Kristina:
Extra screen (for the computer), computer, radio, router, printer, TV, kettle,
toaster, blender, elevation bed, charger, phone, hairdryer, hair straightener, curling iron,
microwave oven, freezer
Mie: TV, clock radio, computer, phone + charger, hairdryer, hair straightener, microwave
oven, iron, kettle, hand mixer
Mikkel:
Wi-fi router, mobile phone, iPad,-, phone and computer charger, toaster, sand-
wich toaster, kettle, extra cooking plates
Kasper: Keyboard, chargers, computer, printer, extra screen, hand blender, hand mixer,
kettle, toaster.
Page 59  60
Sara:
Kettle, toaster, microwave oven, hairdryer, hair straightener, iron, vacuum cleaner,
router, TV, computer
Lars:
Microwave oven, TV, MacBook, stationary computer, extra screen for computer,
speakers, router.
Stine: kettle, router, hair straightener, TV, (box), music centre, computer
Peter:
Electric tooth brush, razor, extra freezer, LED-spots (15W), kettle, TV (plasma), Mac
mini, external hard drive, speakers, lamp (60W), lamp (LED, 2W), MacBook Pro 15”, Apple
Cinemax
Morten:
40’’ amplifier, speakers x2, PlayStation 3, Apple TV, router, NAS server, kettle,
kitchen machine
Line:
Radio, router, computer, printer, TV, speakers, freezer, sewing machine, kettle,
blender, toaster, hairdryer, charger x2, hand mixer, vacuum cleaner, iron
Anne:
Kettle, toaster, hand mixer, sandwich toaster, waffle iron, microwave oven, hair-
dryer, hair straightener, vacuum cleaner, charger, iron, router, printer, TV, computer,
freezer
Lise:
Router, TV, speakers, chargers x 2 (phone + laptop), radio, microwave oven, toaster,
kettle, hairdryer
Eva:
kettle, blender, toaster, charger (phone + laptop), computer, TV, radio, printer, in-
ternet box, LED lights, vacuum cleaner, hand mixer, blow dryer.
Malene:
Radio, TV + DVD, kettle, hairdryer, hair straightener, chargers x2 (phone + lap-
top)
Mette:
Kettle, hand mixer, blender, microwave oven, speakers, charger, computer x2,
TV, hairdryer, curling iron.
Page 60  60
Miriam:
Record player, 2 computers, 2 mobile phones, blender, kettle, toaster, kitchen
machine, vacuum cleaner, hairdryer, electric toothbrush, razor.