This study explores the social potential for flexibility and coordination of energy-intensive technologies, specifically electric vehicles and heat pumps – an increasingly common combination in Swedish single-family homes with diverse needs and motivations. As electrification rises and power peaks grow more concerning, the research examines flexibility in everyday EV charging and heating practices, focusing on enabling and hindering conditions. Drawing on 21 household interviews and social practice theory, the study found that flexibility potential was influenced by temporal, geographical, and material conditions, along with values, expectations, and experiences. Alternative charging strategies and frugal heating practices demonstrated flexibility, especially among households valuing environmental care. Foreseeability supported flexibility, while rigid schedules and high comfort expectations posed challenges. Practices centred around care were important but could reduce flexibility, and unfavourable combinations of geographical and material conditions further constrained it, but instead shaped fragility and awareness. Coordinating EV charging with heat pump use and adapting to new power tariffs proved complex. The study highlights the importance of understanding the social dimensions of energy flexibility and offers insights for policymakers and energy providers to support households in managing and coordinating practices related to multiple energy-intensive technologies in response to price signals and power demands

Klimatförändringarna bidrar till ett varmare klimat i Sverige, med ökade

utomhustemperaturer och fler värmeböljor. Detta påverkar såväl inomhuskomfort som

människors hälsa och aktualiserar frågor om ökad energianvändning för kyla i bostäder

samt risker för problem med effekttoppar. I det här arbetet har vi genom en

litteraturöversikt analyserat forskning om hur människor globalt hanterar höga

temperaturer i sina hem och vad Sverige kan lära av befintlig kunskap om resurseffektiva

sätt att uppnå en ”tillräckligt” god inomhuskomfort.

Purpose – Society faces significant challenges, including the climate crisis, energy crisis and war in Europe, where electric utilities play a crucial role. This paper aims to explore how employees at electric utilities unlearn and relearn in response to past and future crises and times of rapid change. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on seven focus group interviews with electric utility companies in Sweden in 2024–2025. It includes a total of 26 employees in various roles within the organizations. The interviews explore both the energy crisis experiences in 2022–2023 and future scenarios, focusing on opportunities and challenges related to the household customer segment. Findings – Employees identify the need for new approaches, communication and collaboration within and between organizations. They reveal the complexity of ensuring a functioning electricity system while handling issues of sustainability, security and reliability amid changing expectations and new technical prerequisites. At the same time, uncertain boundaries between different stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities, lack of trust and limited analytical capacity constitute constraints for learning, complicating the ability to act. Originality/value – Contributions include scrutinizing how socially critical actors navigate in and for an uncertain world. The authors show how employees learn in periods marked by crisis and rapid change and present four dimensions of multi-relational learning characterized by employees’ interactions: intra-organizational, inter-sectoral, cross-sectoral and citizen-organizational. Furthermore, the authors introduce the concept of “reactivation” to bring theoretical nuance, highlighting how relearning may involve mobilizing dormant or forgotten practices

Reflexivity is a critical practice in research, enabling scholars to examine the interpretive, political, and rhetorical dimensions of their work. This perspective paper explores the role of reflexivity in the study of energy transitions, where implicit assumptions often shape research trajectories and outcomes. Drawing on Susur and Karakaya's (2021) typology, we analyze hidden assumptions across three empirical contexts—aviation, electricity networks, and bio-energy carbon capture and storage. Our reflexive practice reveals common biases, including a tendency towards techno-optimism, the delimitation of spatiotemporal boundaries that may overstate technological viability, and an implicit normalization of capitalist logics that may reinforce social inequities. We argue that a deliberate, iterative approach to reflexivity enhances the robustness of research on sustainability and energy transitions, helping to uncover taken-for-granted worldviews, definitions, and methodological choices. By sharing our own reflections, we seek to encourage greater reflexivity in energy research, fostering more nuanced, critical, and inclusive approaches to addressing today's complex and wicked problems. We conclude by offering recommendations on how reflexivity can be systematically integrated into the research process to strengthen both analytical depth and transformative potential.

Background: In many countries, essential infrastructures, like power systems, are often taken for granted and thus invisible to ordinary people. However, because of energy transitions and climate impacts, the power system in countries such as Sweden is changing. For example, due to variable renewable power sources and increasing demand there is a potential need to deal with changing conditions, including disruptions at an end-use level, which makes the energy system come to the foreground. As argued in the paper, deeper knowledge about people’s understanding of a changing energy system is needed to support households in taking on new roles. The aim of this study was to explore energy resilience from a household perspective by investigating how households make sense of possible future power deficit scenarios. The concept of household energy resilience was used as a lens. Twelve interviews were conducted with people from seven households participating in a trial with remote-controlled heat pumps. The participating households all lived in detached houses in Sweden. Results: The findings illustrate how the households relate to energy resilience through diverse approaches. More specifically, they anticipate the need to become resilient while questioning the idea that they should have to become resilient, and negotiate resilience as a shared responsibility between the different stakeholders of the grid. These insights reveal conditions under which households anticipate taking more active roles in a changing energy system. However, the insights also show that other energy actors need to communicate clearly which responsibilities they are taking on to support households and the energy transition overall. Households cannot be expected to embrace household energy resilience without reciprocity and other actors’ taking on responsibility. Conclusions: Our results show that there is potential for more active and engaged electricity end-users, beyond, for example, flexibility programs. However, households’ active participation, including becoming more energy resilient, is conditional on challenges of value, involvement, and reciprocity. The results will be of interest to professionals involved in electricity supply-related matters including suppliers, policymakers, and researchers.

Existing research highlights a gap between consumers’ stated preferences for circular products and their actual purchasing decisions. While much existing consumer-oriented research aims implicitly or explicitly to transform consumers’ attitudes and beliefs, this paper adopts a social practice framework in which consumer attitudes and beliefs play a relatively small role explaining behavior like purchasing decisions. The study focuses specifically on the practice of shopping for jeans, taking advantage of focus groups with adults in the United Kingdom to elicit detailed explanations of their preferences for new, recycled, or used jeans. Whereas much existing research on consumer preferences for circular or non-circular clothing assumes a direct or near-direct causal connection between preferences and behavior, we find that shopping for these different categories of jeans involves distinct social practices composed of variable meanings, materials, and competencies that are accessible to some individuals and inaccessible to others. Consequently, one avenue to increasing the relative frequency of jeans reuse becomes a matter of improving consumers’ access to the practice of shopping for used jeans rather than attempting to transform their attitudes or beliefs. 

The self-explanatory interchange point Interchange points such as train stations and bus stops are full of visual information and other sensory impressions. In these environments, it can be difficult to navigate and too many impressions can cause visual stress, especially for groups with reduced orientation ability. What is a pleasant and simple visual search and movement for someone can be challenging for someone else. It can add another level to the design of a bus stop if you start from functionality based on what happens in the human brain and emotional life – which can differ greatly between different individuals. Since people's perception of their surroundings differs so much, there is a challenge in creating a common environment that suits everyone as well as possible and that can also be individualized so that each person's needs are met. The purpose of this project has been to investigate how interchange points can be made easier and more obvious to navigate, and at the same time reduce or limit visual stress. Another task for the project was to specifically consider travelers with intellectual and cognitive disabilities. The project consisted of making a literature review of relevant research in the field, as well as conducting a design analysis and developing concept proposals that could be tested and evaluated in a follow-up project. The project group consisted of researchers from RISE, research designers from Boid Design Agency, City of Borås, as well as technology suppliers Viscando, Tobii and Fagerhult. The selected interchange points that were investigated in the project were the Central Station and Södra Torget in Borås. The literature review (See Chapter 3 and Appendix 1) showed that there is a lack of research in the area of interchange points, navigation, design and intellectual and cognitive disabilities. General principles for facilitating navigation could be identified, and some publications suggest various interventions in the environment that can facilitate wayfinding, for example in lighting, landmarks and signs. However, there is a lack of robust follow-ups of which measures have the desired effect. There is also a lack of follow-up on what is specifically helpful or problematic for the project's target groups. This could possibly be explained by the fact that it is difficult to investigate an environment where so many different things are happening at the same time, which makes it challenging to determine what effect a specific part of the environment has on people's navigation skills. However, the literature pointed out important aspects to consider, design principles, as well as suggestions for possible improvement measures. In the design analysis (chapter 4), interviews were conducted with experts on disability from the municipality. The process also involved site visits, development of user journeys and a co-creation idea workshop. The process then resulted in eight different concept proposals based on what emerged in the literature study and the design analysis. The concepts concern individual aids, digital aids, awareness-raising measures for inclusion, lighting and signs. As a next step, we propose to proceed with two of the concepts for testing and evaluation in particular, 1. The empathy campaign and 8. Light harmony. A discussion of the project's results and next steps can be found in chap. 6.

Bytespunkter såsom tågstationer och busshållplatser är fulla med visuell information och andra sinnesintryck. I dessa miljöer kan det vara svårt att navigera och summan av alla intryck som förmedlas kan orsaka visuell stress, särskilt för grupper med nedsatt orienteringsförmåga eller kognitiv förmåga. Det som är en behaglig och enkel visuell sökning och rörelse för någon kan vara utmanade för någon annan. Det kan tillföra ytterligare en förbättrad nivå till bytesplatsens utformning om man utgår från funktionalitet baserat på vad som händer i den mänskliga hjärnan och känslolivet – vilket kan skilja mycket mellan olika människor. Eftersom människors perception av omgivningen skiljer sig så pass mycket åt finns en utmaning i att skapa en gemensam miljö som passar alla så bra som möjligt och som samtidigt går att individanpassa så att varje person får sina behov tillgodosedda. Det här projektet har haft som syfte att undersöka hur bytespunkter kan bli lättare och mer självklara att navigera i, och samtidigt minska eller begränsa visuell stress. En annan uppgift för projektet var att ta hänsyn till resenärer med intellektuella och kognitiva funktionsvariationer. Projektet bestod av att göra en litteraturöversikt över relevant forskning på området, samt genomföra en designanalys och utveckla konceptförslag som skulle kunna testas och utvärderas i ett uppföljande projekt. Projektgruppen bestod av forskare från RISE, forskningsdesigner från Boid designbyrå, Borås Stad, samt teknikleverantörer Viscando, Tobii och Fagerhult. De utvalda bytespunkterna som undersöktes i projektet var Centralstationen och Södra torget i Borås. Litteraturöversikten (Se kap. 3 samt bilaga 1) visade att det saknas forskning på området kring bytespunkter, navigering, design och intellektuella och kognitiva funktionsvariationer. Allmänna principer för att underlätta navigering kunde identifieras, och en del publikationer föreslår olika interventioner i miljön som kan underlätta wayfinding, exempelvis inom belysning, landmärken och skyltar. Dock saknas robusta uppföljningar av vilka åtgärder som har önskad effekt. Det saknas också uppföljning kring vad som är specifikt hjälpsamt eller problematiskt för projektets målgrupper. Detta kan möjligen förklaras av att det är svårt att undersöka en miljö där så många olika saker händer samtidigt, vilket gör det utmanande att avgöra vilken effekt en specifik del av miljön har på människors navigeringsförmåga. Litteraturen pekade dock ut viktiga aspekter att ta hänsyn till, designprinciper, samt gav förslag på möjliga förbättringsåtgärder. I designanalysen (kap. 4) genomfördes intervjuer med sakkunniga inom funktionshinder från kommunen, platsbesök, utveckling av användarresor och en samskapande idéworkshop. Processen resulterade sedan i åtta olika konceptförslag (kap. 5) baserat på det som framkommit i litteraturstudien och designanalysen. Koncepten berör individuella hjälpmedel, digitala hjälpmedel, kunskapshöjande åtgärder för inkludering, belysning och skyltar. Som ett nästa steg föreslår vi att gå vidare med framförallt två av koncepten för testning och utvärdering, 1. Empatikampanj och 8. Ljusharmoni. Ett resonemang kring projektets resultat och nästa steg finns i kap. 6.

About 15% of the population suffer from migraines and it is estimated that about 40% of all people with migraines would benefit from preventive treatment, but only 3-13% use it. Migraine is a huge burden for society and individuals. Migraines can be intensified by light, and some patients need to stay in a dark room until the attack is over. People with this type of photosensitivity show a clear preference for light color, specifically green, which has been shown to be more comfortable and even pain relieving in some cases. We will present a feasibility study with the aim of preparing a series of experiments to investigate if regular short-term green-light-exposure can prevent migraines. We will present findings from the literature, developed light equipment, and plans for future testing of migraine friendly light solutions.

During the autumn, winter and early spring of 2022/2023, Europe faced rapidly increasing energy prices and threats of power cuts. The situation was consequently labelled an “energy crisis”, and one sector that was severely affected was households. In response to the situation, European households made efforts to reduce and time-shift their energy use to mitigate the effects of the crisis. Considering that domestic energy practices are often difficult to change, particularly in the long term, we find this effect of the energy crisis on households important to understand more deeply. In this paper, we use social practice theory to investigate how Swedish households responded to the crisis and what changes they made in terms of re-configurations of their practices. The aim was to contribute knowledge on how households adapt to a changing energy system with volatile prices, limitations in electric power, and threats of energy crisis. We conducted two rounds of semi-structured interviews with 9 households in single-family houses in the middle and south of Sweden during and after the crisis, in total 18 interviews, to examine what re-configurations of practices emerged and which persisted over time. The results show that significant changes were apparent in primarily the practice domains of heating and hygiene. While some of these changes were temporary, other re-configurations of energy practices persisted beyond the months of crisis and high prices, indicating that meanings of frugality and sufficiency were strengthened. Our results demonstrate that households were reminded of certain electricity use that is otherwise typically backgrounded in homes and that the energy crisis stimulated re-configuration and re-examination of norms as well as reflection on electricity use in general. Finally, we discuss the effects of the energy crisis on household practices in comparison with other crises and disruptions, and point to the importance of communicating clearly with households about the societal effects of their efforts, in order to manage the legacy of this crisis for similar future crisis situations. 

Flexible resources aids in enhancing the resilience of a renewable dominated power system. Space heating systems equipped with heat pumps is one such flexible resource. With this background, the current study deals with the quantification of flexibility potential of space heating systems in houses equipped with various heat pump types. A heat pump model is represented using a vapour compression heat pump cycle. This model is integrated with a thermal model of a house to estimate electricity consumption, for maintaining the indoor temperature at a set value, as flexibility quantification depends on electricity consumption. In addition to this, flexibility potential is quantified by, analysing and incorporating the results on minimum acceptable indoor temperature from twelve interviews with households owning heat pumps, into the integrated model. The results from interviews reveal that, there is an uncertainty in minimum acceptable indoor temperature, as it is dependant on a number of factors such as frequency and duration of interruption, access to additional heating and motivation to be flexible. Hence, to quantify flexibility using thermal simulations, the indoor temperature is reduced from 20 °C to values between 18 °C and 15 °C, based on minimum acceptable temperatures stated in the interviews. The flexibility potential is quantified in terms of an instantaneous reduction in electric power and reduction in electric energy. By reducing the indoor temperature from 20 °C to the aforementioned values at an outdoor ambient temperature of -5 °C, in about a million single family houses in southern half of Sweden, an instantaneous reduction in electric power is estimated to be 1.6 GW, for the power system with 23 GW plannable power. Additionally, considering the recovery of the indoor temperature to 20 °C in 24 h, electric energy reduction is found to be between 4.06 GWh and 7.4 GWh, when the reference indoor temperature is reduced to values between 18 °C and 15 °C respectively, over 17.25 h. Furthermore, with time the amount of flexibility offered reduces, becomes negative during the recovery period and finally reaches zero, when the indoor temperature is restored. The results reveal that space heating systems in houses equipped with heat pumps have the potential to enhance the resilience of the power grid during severe grid disturbances.