Promoting smart homes

Over the past decade, there has been increasing interest in using ‘smart’ technologies: to can gather information about a building and its inhabitants, and automatically make decisions about which appliances and services should be powered. Promoting smart homes is frequently seen as a means of reducing energy demand. However, this chapter shows that smart home technologies are also positioned and sold as means of enhancing convenience or creating a cosy atmosphere. In increasing expectations of service, and in relying on energy-intensive infrastructures like network technology and data centres, smart home technologies might not reduce demand at all.