Investigating EV Driving as Meaningful Practice

Abstract

Studies show that people find meanings such as freedom and independence in driving. However, the transition towards electric vehicles (EV's) challenges these meanings as they present different driving experiences such as shorter driving range and missing supportive infrastructures. This suggests that people find other meaning in EV driving. This paper presents a qualitative study with 11 Danish participants who reflect on their experiences of driving EV's in everyday life. As driving is embedded in many practices along with being a practice in itself, we draw on social practice theory as a framework to unfold how participants make use of technology to make EV driving a meaningful and desirable practice. We report on how participants facilitate their driving practices using interactive technology and charging infrastructure. We discuss these findings under three headings with ideas to inspire future HCI research and design for meaningful, sustainable EV driving practice. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centered computing → Empirical studies in HCI.

Postphenomenological Dimensions of Digitally Mediated Domestic Heating

“…However, it also empower other people to become more comfortable at the cost of sustainability. This is also true for many other products (i.e., electric cars that make people drive more because they feel more sustainable [29]). We argue that explicitly looking for such twosidedness, or tensions as we discuss above, can be helpful to keep in mind when designing with a specific purpose, user group, or technology in mind.…”

“…Examples of these are using the fireplace more if district heating consumption is high (which is unsustainable compared to district heating) or using Watts to justify using more heat. In the HCI literature, such negative aspects of inclusion have been identified before, for example, when electric car drivers drive more [29]. Such studies show that many people think they are sustainable (it's more efficient, right?…”

“…Different consumer sectors have been studied such as electricity (e.g., [8,10,33,34], transportation (e.g., [7,29,54]), water (e.g., [17,40]), and heat (e.g., [3,13,26,31,35,37,63]). In this body of literature, researchers have been especially interested in changing behavior in electricity use and central heating [19].…”

“…For example, drawing on theories of scripting, Jensen et al [28] illustrates three different personas of energy users based on a holistic understanding of a home setting. Drawing on social practice theory, Jensen et al [29] shows how Electric Vehicle (EV) drivers use their cars to make driving a more meaningful, sustainable, and desirable practice. Similarly, in design research, Raptis et al [44] draws on aesthetic, functional, and conceptual provocations to bring forward tacit knowledge on energy consumption practices.…”

“…Watts also constrained participants from acting on their district heating. From our questionnaire data, we have identified that several respondents (29) were constrained in acting. Going in-depth in our interviews, we have determined that they were constrained by Watts mediating limited knowledge on how to act or the consequences of their actions.…”