Living with Solar Power: How Photovoltaic Systems Reconfigure Everyday Household Practices

Abstract

In light of the growing role of residential photovoltaic systems (PV systems) in the energy transition, this thesis explores how PV systems and related energy technologies reconfigure everyday household practices in Sweden. Based on qualitative interviews with 13 Swedish households and drawing on practice theory, the study shows that PV systems make energy more visible, interpretable and manageable in everyday life by enabling households to connect electricity production, consumption and prices to specific appliances, weather conditions and routines. The main finding is that knowledge and new technologies do not automatically lead to changed practices. Instead, reconfiguration occurs selectively when the perceived meaning or reward of adjustment is experienced as equal to or greater than the effort, disruption or coordination required. In this study, this meaning was most often economic. When the perceived reward was smaller than the inconvenience of adjustment, practices remained stable despite the presence of relevant knowledge, technologies and possibilities for automation.