The Smart Grid Challenge is Social Rather than Technological

DONATO, PATRICIO G.; FUNES, MARCOS A.

Current Engineering Letters and Reviews

Betham Science

Año: 2024 vol. 02

2666-948X

Abstract: Background: Smart grids have expanded over the last decade, with large-scale smartmeter deployments in several regions of the world.Objective: The goal of this perspective is to discuss the social challenges faced by smart grids.While numerous scholarly works have thoroughly examined smart grids from a technical perspective, a noticeable shift has occurred in recent years towards conducting research about theinteraction between technology and customers that shows some issues to future deployments.Methods: This study is a review of recent literature on smart grids focused on studies related tothe social acceptance of these networks, which has been published in the last five years.Results: The review of studies shows that discussion about smart grids has been traditionally focused on technology, paying no attention to social issues.Conclusion: It is essential to understand the motivations behind public perceptions of smart gridsin order to enhance and extend awareness campaigns in the short and medium term, as withoutsocial support, the expectations placed on smart grids may be severely limited.