Designerly contributions to energy sufficiency – a narrative review and exploration of possibilities
Paper i proceeding, 2024
Based on a narrative literature and design exploration, we outline and illustrate possibilities for designers to contribute. The question of basic human needs is central to Darby & Fawcett’s (2018) definition of energy sufficiency. Design, in particular user-centred design, has long worked with needs, uncovering latent needs and tacit knowledge. This design competence can open new avenues, for example by untangling needs from the material and energy-consuming ways we currently satisfy them with, through innovation of new “need satisfiers”, or through critical design that prompts reflection and debate. Critical design and similar approaches are further useful to address a key shift in societal and personal narratives surrounding energy sufficiency (cf. Tröger & Reese, 2021), e.g. progress vs. contentment, ideas of success, and how fast needs should be satisfied. Designerly competences can also be used to show existing diversity of practices and encourage exploration of them. Finally, design can address systemic aspects by creating innovative wellbeing-enhancing solutions. Such solutions could potentially shift the framing of sufficiency away from voluntary actions that lead to reductions of utility and moral licence for rebound effects (cf. Sorell et al, 2020). In conclusion, we argue that design competences should play important roles in a transition to energy sufficiency.
literature review
energy sufficiency
designerly thinking
Design
Författare
Helena Strömberg
Chalmers, Industri- och materialvetenskap, Design & Human Factors
Sara Renström
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Katharina Merl
Boid AB
Maria Håkansson
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Eceee Summer Study Proceedings
16537025 (ISSN) 20017960 (eISSN)
25-34 1-139-24978-91-988270-3-3 (ISBN)
Chamouille, France,
Nog!? En utforskning av tillräcklig och rättvis energianvändning genom design
Energimyndigheten (P2022-00151), 2022-12-01 -- 2024-12-31.
Drivkrafter
Hållbar utveckling
Ämneskategorier
Design
Tvärvetenskapliga studier
Energisystem
Styrkeområden
Energi