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Social impacts and control in the smart home

The smart home technology industry promises energy savings and lifestyle improvements. However, there is little evidence that smart home technologies will reduce home energy use overall, and there are a range of emerging detrimental social impacts that require further attention from researchers, policymakers and practitioners.

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Correspondence to Larissa Nicholls.

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Nicholls, L., Strengers, Y. & Sadowski, J. Social impacts and control in the smart home. Nat Energy 5, 180–182 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-0574-0

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