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. © 2024 The Authors

Utilizing energy flexibility in households through smart steering of appliances has received attention as one way to reduce power peaks and adapt demand to a renewable energy system. Heating is a big part of the electricity consumption in households, and heat pump technology is growing in popularity for heating detached houses. While there is ongoing research calculating the technical potential for energy flexibility from heat pumps, few studies combine remote control of heat pumps with qualitative research on how households experience this control. The purpose of this study is to find out how long-term steering of heat pumps is experienced by households, how it affects their heating practices, and how they make sense of remote steering as a service. The data originates from an interdisciplinary project combining a field trial where heat pumps of selected Swedish households were remotely controlled for two winter periods, with qualitative interviews with the households. We conducted interviews with 12 participants, before and after the trial.The results show that households were overall positive towards offering flexibility through remote-controlled heat pumps, and that the steering of the heating blended well with normal temperature variation associated with having a villa in Sweden. However, the respondents were mystified by the procedure, which created a ghost in the heat pump. Furthermore, remote steering as a service comes with challenges related to reliability, security, and agency over the heat pump. Important social conditions for adopting flexibility through remote steering of heat pumps are discussed.

Current freight transport is highly dependent on fossil fuels and there is a need for a transition to alternative fuels and technologies. Biogas is a type of biofuel that has the potential to reduce climate emissions from freight transport, while providing additional benefits such as recycling of nutrients and increased energy security. This paper uses theories on the diffusion of green technologies to analyse the barriers and drivers for the increased use and diffusion of biogas in freight transport. The empirical focus is on the region of Västra Götaland in Sweden, and qualitative interviews have been conducted with demand-side actors such as transport buyers, haulage companies and vehicle manufacturers. The results confirm the important barriers observed in previous research, such as the higher costs of biogas, financial uncertainties and lack of infrastructure, as well as the interplay between barriers. The main drivers are an increased focus on sustainability both within the sector and from wider society, as well as the environmental properties of biogas. Specific barriers have also been identified such as a fragmented freight market structure with a mix of large and small transport companies, tight profit margins and reduced capacity for investments. There is also a division of labour and responsibilities between transport companies and transport buyers, which makes it unclear who will drive the transition to alternative fuels. In general, the study shows that the different types of uncertainty are perceived by the actors as being a significant barrier that needs to be better conceptualised in diffusion theory.