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Dragon-breath and snow-melt: know-how, experience and heat flows in the home

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 16:44 authored by Sarah Royston
People manage heat flows in their homes through diverse skilful engagements, including interactions with a wide range of materials that help to generate heat, move it around, or prevent its movement. Using these strategies, we try to ensure that heat is where it is needed, when it is needed, and can also try to minimise its wastage (heat-out-of place and heat-out-of-time). However, the practical knowledge or know-how used in managing these thermal flows has received little attention to date, despite its relevance to topical debates on energy consumption. This paper explores how experience-based know-how is used in monitoring and managing heat flows in the home. I also consider three processes that stimulate the development of new know-how: changes in the life-course, in material arrangements, and in shared understandings. These themes are illustrated using quotes from various sources, such as web forums and advice sites. Finally, I consider how these ideas relate to wider theories of experience and know-how, and offer some reflections on what this approach might mean for research, policy and practice on sustainable energy use.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Energy Research and Social Science

ISSN

2214-6296

Publisher

Elsevier

Volume

2

Page range

148-158

Department affiliated with

  • International Relations Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2019-02-05

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2019-02-05

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