Systems of provision – the assemblages that connect people
with sites and technologies of production, distribution and consumption
(Fine and Leopold, 1993) – may be fixed or fluid. Where
they are fixed there is little opportunity for households to make
substantial changes themselves. Switching to a SHW is one means
of providing consumers greater autonomy from the fixed energy
systems through electricity and gas networks. The extent of this
autonomy is limited, however, by the complexities associated with
the process of selection and operation of SHW systems.