WRC 1013/1023: Freshman Composition: Exploring Critical Issues

"This article assesses the possibilities of using consumer innovation in the electricity sector, which is slow-moving, yet faced with huge challenges and opportunities to become “smart” and “low carbon.” We study the benefits of engaging innovative consumers (“lead users”) in product, service, and business innovation in terms of (a) the capacity of lead user-consumers to innovate in the highly regulated electricity market, (b) the attractiveness of such lead-user generated ideas for mainstream consumers, (c) the usefulness of lead-user engagement for companies in the energy industry, and (d) the usefulness of lead user engagement for the necessary broader societal transition processes."

"The goal of this paper is to disentangle the ambiguity associated with the term smart grids. A plurality of definitions, envisioned purposes and future visions are associated with smart grids, inclusding access to electricity as a human right, the decentralization of the energy system and the changing role of consumers, sustainability issues, energy security, and climate change. In this context, it is very difficult to assess the potential of smart grids, given the high uncertainty associated with the many challenges that this technology is supposed to face. We apply the analytical tools of complexity theory to (1) identify the different definition of smart grid that are associated with different future visions about their performance; and (2) provide a critical appraisal of these future visions in relation to the stated goals and social contexts in which they are generated."

"Recent advances in information and communications technology (ICT) have initiated development of a smart electrical grid and smart buildings. Buildings consume a large portion of the total electricity production worldwide, and to fully develop a smart grid they must be integrated with that grid. Buildings can now be ‘prosumers’ on the grid (both producers and consumers), and the continued growth of distributed renewable energy generation is raising new challenges in terms of grid stability over various time scales. Buildings can contribute to grid stability by managing their overall electrical demand in response to current conditions. Facility managers must balance demand response requests by grid operators with energy needed to maintain smooth building operations."