discourse, in which change is thought to take place via the provision of information (data) and technology.

With the focus firmly situated on energy, we risk losing sight of the dynamic practices in which consumption is implicated.

My aim here is to draw attention to, and then away from, the pervasive and unified vision for the smart energy consumer, whom I name Resource Man. I view this consumer, or user, as an invisible persona, or as a largely assumed user. I use Resource Man as a way to simplify and generalize a significant body of knowledge to draw attention to a pervasive vision.

My agenda is quite simple: to shine a spotlight on the dominant vision for household energy consumers, and to offer insights for how HCI designers can design, and already are designing, for other practices in the home involving humans and non-humans, with potentially significant energy implications.

WHO IS RESOURCE MAN?

Resource Man embodies a unified vision for the smart energy consumer.

He is an efficient micro-resource
manager—or a “Mini-Me” version of
his utility provider [ 6]. Similar to the
“scholastic bias” academics project
toward the people they study [ 7],
Resource Man represents the energy
industry’s “resource bias” projected
onto energy consumers. In his ultimate
imagined state, Resource Man is
interested in his own energy data,
understands it, and wants to use it to
change the way he uses energy. He
responds rationally to price signals and
makes informed decisions based on
up-to-date and detailed data provided
about the costs, resource units (kilowatt
hours), and impacts (greenhouse gas
emissions) of his consumption. For
these tasks he needs information,
dynamic prices, and enabling
technologies, such as automated smart
Economy of the Future” [ 2]. Data and
technology made available via smart
energy technologies will “empower
consumers” [ 3] to “take control” [ 4] of
their consumption and make “informed
choices” [ 5] about how they use energy,
thereby unlocking the “vast potential”
[ 4] of the smart grid. This is positioned
as a conscious and deliberate move
taken by energy consumers, supported
by electricity utilities and governments,
and enabled by technology.

Contrast this vision with your home.
There are likely to be piles of laundry
in various stages of cleanliness. There
might be debates over whose turn it
is to do the dishes, what to have for
dinner, which television shows to watch,
whether to open or close a window, who
left the light on, or at what temperature
to set the thermostat. These debates
might even be with yourself. There
might be exercise to fit in, work
schedules and school timetables to plan
for, and homework and housework to be
done. HCI designers and practitioners
have long recognized these dynamics;
indeed, they have pioneered research
on technologies in the home. However,
when it comes to the study of energy
and how to effect change through smart
energy technologies, these issues often
disappear from view. Instead, we are left
with a largely rational and rationalizing
appliances and micro-generation
systems, which allow him to transform
his home into a resource control station.
He is both in control of his energy
consumption and assigns this control to
technologies to manage on his behalf.
I refer to Resource Man as a male,
not because he is always directly
identified as one, but because he is cast
in the image of the male-dominated
industries of engineering and economics
that permeate energy management.
Moreover, visions of him exclude much
of the productive work of the home,
which is still carried out by women. The
strategies intended for Resource Man
unsurprisingly capture the attention
of men more than women, although
resource women still exist. American
consumer research reports that men
are more interested in technological
solutions for their energy use, and in
monitoring and managing their use
through the latest personal electronics
[ 8]. I also refer to Resource Man as an
individual, for while there are many
resource men, they operate in isolation
from one another, even within the
context of their own homes, where the
bill payer is positioned hierarchically,
and somewhat traditionally, as the
Resource Man of the house.
Resource Man’s origins can be
traced back to Rational Man, or Homo
economicus, differentiated by his access
to more advanced and sophisticated
technologically enabled tools compared
with his economically minded ancestor.
Despite this distinction, Resource Man
still behaves rationally and in line with
sophisticated and frequent information
about energy prices and consumption.
Resource Man’s preoccupation with
technologies also positions him as a
close relative of Tool Man ( Homo faber).
Another branch on Resource Man’s
family tree is devoted to Choice Man
(Homo optionis), who has passed down
an interest in making detailed choices
about the best (energy) technologies and
solutions to suit Resource Man’s needs
in response to accurate and up-to-date
energy information. Resource Man
is also loosely related to Social Man
(Homo sociologicus): He is social in the
sense that he is interested in sharing
and comparing his energy performance
with that of other resource men through
social media apps such as Tweet-a-Watt.
Resource Man is not a figment of the
imagination; in many ways he already
exists. Consumer research indicates
In his ultimate imagined state, Resource
Man is interested in his own energy data,
understands it, and wants to use it to
change the way he uses energy.

COVER STORY