1. New Technology in a Marginalised Community:
Exploring Energy Innovation in the South Wales
Valleys
Fiona Shirani
Cardiff University, School of Social Sciences
Chris Groves, Karen Henwood, Erin Roberts, Nick Pidgeon
BSA 2018

2. • Energy Trilemma
• How do people relate to
energy in their everyday
lives?
• How do people experience
living alongside innovative
technical developments?
• Issues for community-level
schemes
• How do smart technology
elements impact on
people’s interest and
enthusiasm?
Contextual Overview

3. Literature
• Smart technology as a ‘fait accompli’
(Strengers, 2016)
• Empowering consumers and addressing
fuel poverty (OFGEM 2017; DECC 2015;
Welsh Government, 2016)
• Public concerns about loss of control and
unauthorised access to data (Balta-Ozkan
et al., 2013; Ballo, 2015)
• Smart associated with meanings of
cleverness and neatness (Gram-Hansen
and Darby, 2018)
• Who is smart technology for?

4. FLEXIS
• FLEXIS social science work streams:
• WS1 – Flexible systems and expert visions
• WS2 – System change and everyday life
• WS3 – Communities, energy controversies and
risk governance
• Under WS2, semi-structured interviews
conducted with 23 residents of Caerau, site of a
proposed minewater heating scheme.
• Study will be qualitative
longitudinal and involve creative
methods

5. • Ex-mining community (four local collieries
closed 1977-1985)
• Population of around 4000 across 1850 homes
• High levels of child poverty, unemployment
and ill-health. Fuel poverty also an issue
• One of the most deprived wards in Wales
Caerau

6. Minewater
• Water in disused mineworkings as a potential
geothermal source of energy
• Heat extracted from water and used to heat
local homes via existing radiator system and
heat pump
• Alterations to housing stock to improve
efficiency
• Potential installation of ‘smart energy
management platforms’ in residents homes

7. • Main interest in reducing energy bills
• Community getting something back from the
mines
• Positive for community identity
• Concerns about security and safety
• Concerns about damage to the landscape
• Scepticism about technology (including smart
management system)
• Longer-term benefits for
future generations
Views of the development

8. • Helping to keep track of energy use and
budget. Some similarity to prepayment
meters
• Can be alarming in making energy use
visible
“So everybody I’ve asked who have got it, oh
when they had it first great, oh I know exactly
what I am using, and I find out that then they
become paranoid about what they’re using
you know they run around the house looking
for a light bulb on now, why am I burning that.
You know so I don’t know, I’ll give that a miss
at the moment as well, if you don’t mind.”
(Len)
Smart technology

9. Smart technology
• Unhelpful for people who already have to pay close
attention to energy use
“They do go on about this smart meter, but anybody with
an ounce of common sense won’t use anything they
don’t want to use. You know, and we can put it on your
phone so it comes, comes on when you come in from
shopping. Why? You can switch it on yourself … It’s not
going to save me money. Plus the fact you’re being
charged for the installation of it. That goes on your bill as
well. They think, they think people are stupid … Thick,
dumb, I don’t know, or, is it, they’re spraying something
in the air today? Because I’m a grown, I know how to do
all that. You know, I won’t let things run over time. I
won’t leave things on overnight. I roughly know the cost
of it, and the ones I’ve seen, the needle’s going up like
that. All the time. So I don’t want to be reminded how
much I’m using. I’m quite good at cutting back.” (Terry)

10. • Who is it for?
• Enthusiasm from younger people:
Oh that’s cool. I’d like that … I think younger people more than
older people, because I think older people you see them with
their little phones and they’re not too keen on technology but
then younger people I think they’d love it. (Leanne)
• Less useful for people who are not out at work:
PAUL: If people are working it would be good wouldn’t it,
because like, hour before you come home you can turn the
heating on. In the winter. So you’re not wasting, you haven’t
got to have it on all the time.
DAWN: We’re usually in the house, so it don’t make a difference
to us, it wouldn’t, for that side of it like
• More scepticism amongst older people
• Potential benefits to those with limited mobility
Smart technology

11. Summary
• Original scheme with many potential
benefits for the community
• Main concern for residents is reducing
energy costs
• Scepticism that smart technology can
help to reduce costs, although can
improve convenience
• Implications for wider technical rollout