ABSTRACT
The fourth chapter focuses on the proposition that demand is temporally unfolding. Insofar as demand is tied to the dynamics of social practices, it is also linked to related forms of timing and temporal organisation. This is important in that infrastructures are typically sized to cope with peaks in demand. In the energy sector, the shift towards more intermittent forms of renewable supply complicates this strategy, calling for better understanding of exactly when energy is used, whether energy-demanding practices can be moved to off-peak times and what forms of storage might be required to keep supply and demand in balance. Rather than treating this as a purely technical problem, this chapter shows how peaks and troughs are formed. In addressing this topic we show how the many practices that make up a day, a week or a year are sequenced, synchronised and scheduled, not in isolation but always in relation to each other and to the material relations discussed in Chapter 3. In exploring these themes, we open the way for more adventurous approaches, including those that entail changes in societal rhythms and thus in the extent of demand and in when it occurs.
