Of impacts, agents, and functions: An interdisciplinary meta-review of smart home energy management systems research. (October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: McIlvennie, Claire; Sanguinetti, Angela; Pritoni, Marco
• Is Part Of: Energy research & social science. Volume 68(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-10
• Subjects: Smart home -- Energy management -- Control -- Information -- Interdisciplinary -- Energy impacts -- Demand-side management; Power resources -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Energy consumption -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 333.7905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101555
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2214-6296

Abstract

Abstract: Smart home energy management technologies (SHEMS) have long been viewed as a promising opportunity to manage the way households use energy. Research on this topic has emerged across a variety of disciplines, focusing on different pieces of the SHEMS puzzle without offering a holistic vision of how these technologies and their users will influence home energy use moving forward. This paper presents the results of a systematic, interdisciplinary meta-review of SHEMS literature, assessing the extent to which it discusses the role of various SHEMS components in driving energy benefits. Results reveal a bias towards technical perspectives and controls approaches that seek to drive energy impacts such as load management and energy savings through SHEMS without user or third-party participation. Not only are techno-centric approaches more common, there is also a lack of integration of these approaches with user-centric, information-based solutions for driving energy impacts. These results suggest future work should investigate more holistic solutions for optimal impacts on household energy use. We hope these results will provoke a broader discussion about how to advance research on SHEMS to capitalize on their potential contributions to demand-side management initiatives moving forward.