Information and communication technologies
– a new round of electrification in households
Inge Røpke, Technical University of Denmark
Toke Haunstrup Christensen, Danish Building Research
Institute, Aalborg University
Motivation: Old and new environmental
impacts of everyday life
• Studies tend to focus on: Which parts of consumption are most
problematic in an environmental perspective here and now?
• Calls for studies on food (e.g. meat), transport and housing
(heating, cooling, white goods)
• Fine! But: where do the new threats come from?
What happens behind our
backs while we are dealing
with the old problems?
New problems are constructed
Not the least: in relation to
ICT and the internet
infrastructure
2
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Outline
Summarize a project:
The use of ICT in Danish households in an energy
perspective
•Data
•Three observations – and what they tell about habits and
routines
•Implications for electricity consumption
•A new round of electrification of households
•Indirect energy consumption
•Rounding up
3
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Project: The use of ICT in Danish households
in an energy perspective
• In-depth interviews 2007-8
• Focus on emerging trends: people who have long
experience with ICT and competence to take up new
applications
• 14 main informants, 3 partners, additional telephone
interviews. Adults: 25-75 years
• Forms with background information:
– Equipment of the household (40 types)
– The use of ICT in relation to 48 activities, organized in
10 groups
• Three points:
– Pervasiveness
– User creativity
– Diversification
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DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Pervasive integration in everyday practices
• ICTs support the universal activities of communication, search for
information and shopping – which are integrated aspects of
almost all practices in modern societies
• Work and education
– Teleworking, distance learning, home office, video
conferences
• Reproductive work
– Shopping, banking, public services, health, the intelligent
home, security, child care, cooking, do-it-yourself, ICT
maintenance
• Leisure
– Social communication, entertainment, games, creativity,
documentation, hobbies, gambling, sex
• Civil society
– Organizations, politics
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DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Mary is a coach in the local karate
club, training a children’s team
Communicates with the parents
through email
Contributes to the club’s website
Finds inspiration at websites of
other clubs
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DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Esben is a member of a
rifle club
He has a safe for keeping weapons for the club. A webcamera is
installed in the room with the safe. Images are sent to Esben’s
mobile in case anything moves
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DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Several informants have
running computers
Measuring distance and
gradients of the route,
and monitoring the speed and
pulse of the user
Mikkel uses a net-based route
map to plan new routes and
measure the length
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DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Merete takes lessons in line
dance
On YouTube she finds films
with instructions
9
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Lise rides her horse every day
and will soon buy one more
horse
Lise and her husband are
renovating the stable
She plans for webcameras in
stable and fold and a website
to access the recordings over
the net
Then she can monitor the horses without going out at night
And she can watch them at her workplace and decide to go
home early in case of bad weather
10
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Benny sings in a choir, records the
concerts of the choir and edits the
results
Sometimes he burns a CD and
discusses the music with others
Brian (retired) is responsible for the
website of his choir
Merete’s choir has a Facebook
group where the music is available
She also uses YouTube to search
for the songs
11
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Helle is interested in genealogy. Her cousin made a website where
family members upload information.
She uses data
bases, incl. the
church registers
which are
scanned and
made available
on the net
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DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Mary logs on to the internal pages of her daughter’s class almost
every day to see what homework is set for the pupils
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DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
John has a copy of his home in Second Life. The avatar can turn
the light off and on in the real home.
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DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Diversification of well-known practices: The
range of ways to keep in contact
• Meeting, phone calls, letters
• Mobile phone; text and picture messages
• Skype / IP telephony; video-phoning
• Email
• Instant messaging (Messenger, Google Talk, Facebook’s
instant messaging service)
• Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn…
• Blogs; travel blogs
• Web-based photo albums
• Online games
15
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Habits and routines do not seem difficult
to change
– in an environmentally problematic
direction
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DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Implications for direct electricity
consumption
• At least one computer per person. Many have more
• It is not practical to turn off the computer
• Room and activity specific computers
• Specialized equipment for many practices
• Mobile equipment ever more important
• Potential for energy savings: improved monitoring
(increased awareness of energy consumption) and
intelligent management. Still only a minor modification of
the general picture
17
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
A new round of the electrification of
households
• Ligthing
• Power and heating
• Broadcasting
• Data-processing (monitoring, management)
• Combined with at new infrastructure: interactive network
18
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Electricity consumption 1946-2006
The distribution of household electricity consumption among final uses 1946-2006
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
1946 1951 1956 1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006
Lighting
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Cooling
Heating
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
Cooking
Laundry
TV, music and computer
COST 298: Users of social networks
Miscellaneous
14/05/2009
Basic function
Basic technology
Transmission of sound Telephone
(by wire)
Lighting
Electric bulb
Heating
Heating element
Powering
Consumer products New infrastructure
Telephone
Telephone network
Electric bulb
Electricity network
Electric iron
Electric cooker
Electric heater for water
Toaster
...
Vacuum cleaner
Sewing machine
Refrigerator
Washing machine
Food processor
...
Playing of stored
Media for recording and Gramophone
sound (later images) reproduction
Tape recorder
...
Wireless transmission Vacuum tube
Radio
and broadcasting
Television
Data-processing
Transistor
Personal computer
Interactivity
Microchip
Internet access
Accessibility
Computers in network Mobile devices
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Small electromotor
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
+ Broadcasting networks
+ Internet backbone net
and various access
networks
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Implications for indirect energy consumption
• Production and disposal of equipment
– Particularly important for devices with a short lifetime
• Running of the ICT-related infrastructure
– E.g. increased data transmission and bandwidth add to
energy consumption
• Based on literature survey:
– When 1 kWh is consumed in the residence,
– 1 kWh is consumed to manufacture, transport and dispose of
the hardware
– ½ kWh is consumed to run the internet and the ICT
infrastructure outside the residence
• Derived energy impacts
– Complexity, unresolved
– In case they are positive: do not necessarily justify the
negative impacts
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DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
”The broadband society” involves quite
radical transformations
• Potential for transforming most everyday practices
• Dramatic implications for energy use
• Comparable to the establishment of the car society – or
even more radical?
• Two dominant social agendas develop in relative isolation
– Preventing climate change (and other environmental
problems)
– Promoting ”the broadband society” (sometimes
associated the concept of ”dematerialization”)
• Can the agendas meet?
22
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009
Thank you for your attention!
23
DTU Management Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
COST 298: Users of social networks
14/05/2009