What are smart grids? Epistemology, interdisciplinarity and getting things done

Abstract

Smart grids are defined in a variety of ways that are more or less continuous with current energy systems and technologies. Since their emergence in the first decade of the 21st century, a number of trends have become visible in the way smart grids are defined, from revolutionary break, to additive (‘adding an ict layer’), to enabling the energy transition. Smart Grids as a term is increasingly accused of being a rather vague label for a variety of innovations. This scepticism around the term indicates that it may be moving from being the latest buzzword to being decried as ‘hype’. But this multiplicity is in itself interesting. Closer consideration of what we talk about when we talk about smart grids provides insights into the current paths to innovation that are emerging and into the changing requirements to energy systems. In this chapter, I put forth three ways of looking at definitions of smart grids and the functions they fulfill: as promissory work, as creation of new objects and as boundary work. By considering the functional value of definitions beyond description, a richer, more critical discussion can arise. Shedding this light on the definitions of smart grids provides a tool for interdisciplinary interaction and a useful analytic basis for collaborative work on smart grids.