Seminar: Creating pleasance: new needs for the smart home.
Thursday 9th June 14.00-15.00, D72/MR11 FASS, Lancaster University -All Welcome
This talk draws on an international content analysis of online and magazine articles exploring the ideas embedded in visions for the 21st Century smart home. In particular, I analyse smart home advocates’ pursuit of ‘pleasance’ – an ambient and electrically-enabled aesthetic experience which brings ‘comfort, romance and peace of mind’ into the home (Lutron 2015). Through a series of examples, such as lighting, audio-visual devices, and smart thermostats, I show how pleasance is imagined and promoted by smart home advocates. I consider where this idea has come from, what’s new about it, and what implications it holds for energy demand.