Reimagining Home Living: Spatially Autonomous Devices and Energy Resilience

When it comes to our homes, fixtures and appliances often reflect both our culture and technological advancements. Historically, devices like televisions, stoves, and outlets have anchored the physical layout of our living spaces and dictated our social interactions within them. The television, for example, dominates the living room, forcing a media-centric furniture arrangement; cooktops anchor the kitchen, keeping cooking activities out of view; and outlet locations dictate where we can pursue our hobbies or work. Some norms are already shifting—as media consumption moves towards individualized screen experiences via phones and tablets, people are increasingly trying to deprioritize the TV in their spaces. Surprisingly, despite a cultural shift that made us reprioritize our space, the physical architecture of our homes remains static. 

This persistence of outdated spatial arrangements, out of sync with technological possibilities, presents an exciting opportunity. Reimagining static fixtures with modern, high-capacity battery technology offers a way to create new communal experiences and provide energy resilience.

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Spatially autonomous appliances in modern living spaces

One recent example is a concept for a battery-powered TV that moves on casters, runs on a high-capacity battery, and includes shelving opposite the screen. On a user experience level, its mobility allows for a flexible viewing experience that caters to the modern family's diverse needs. While it can be used for viewing, mobility opens other use cases such as working out or creating an ambiance for a gathering. Its moderate size encourages shared viewing experiences, bridging the gap between the personal engagement of handheld devices and the communal spirit of traditional television watching. Rather than being just a media device, it is designed to be a piece of living room furniture, promoting a more human, intentional, and emotive interaction with technology. After the show, the TV can serve as a room divider, sit by the wall with the shelving side facing the room, or move to a different room, thereby giving the living room back over to living.   

Related:What You Should Know About Wireless Charging

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Beyond its immediate utility as a mobile television, the device embodies a broader concept: distributed home energy. As a movable energy reserve, the device can support a variety of activities that require power, effectively creating a mobile outlet within the home. Such freedom can allow people to work from a couch without a nearby power outlet, create an ad hoc music listening room, or power a video game console for untethered gaming anywhere around the house.

Related:Solid-State Battery Companies Find Surprising Applications

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Enhancing resilience with sustainable power

High-capacity batteries in mobile devices can make home power supplies more resilient, independent, and sustainable. By using a charging mat with actuated connectors, the concept TV can charge the device when clean energy is available and power other appliances or feed energy back to the grid during high demand. When the electrical grid is strained—a mounting concern across the US—the user can feed power from the device’s battery back into the grid through the charging mat’s internal grid-tie inverter. California recently demonstrated the potential of battery-powered energy grids by running on stored battery energy for a few hours. This showcases the capability of batteries to support the grid during high demand or supply fluctuations, enhancing overall energy resilience.  

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These kinds of batteries can also run lights, fans, or other critical devices during power outages, providing a reliable temporary backup power source. The more battery-powered devices a home has, the more resilient it becomes to power outages and price surges. Collectively, these items may offer power storage comparable to a standalone home backup battery, without the installation cost or space requirements. They may also qualify for Inflation Reduction Act tax credits. 

Related:Could Novel Wearable Designs Surge Thanks to This New Microbattery?

Product designers are exploring ways to power other types of household devices with high-capacity batteries. At least two manufacturers are taking reservations for battery-powered induction cooktops and ranges that offer energy savings and grid optimization, as well as the ability to create a hot meal or keep the fridge running during a power outage. There’s plenty of room for more innovative designs across the home, changing the looks and locations of home offices, game rooms, and hobby spaces, as well as heating and cooling equipment or many other small and large appliances. For these types of devices to catch on, they need to offer truly new and differentiated experiences beyond just being more sustainable than their predecessors. 

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Unplug and Play: The future of how we live? 

As with any breakthrough technology, the advent of high-capacity batteries invites us to reflect on our daily routines and consider how we want to shape our world. Beyond a simple power swap, designers and innovators should explore the new possibilities these batteries enable to create extraordinary, resilient, and forward-looking user experiences. 

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Appliances with spatial autonomy could lead to a home environment where spaces are no longer built around static energy points but are instead fluidly choreographed to meet specific, pragmatic needs. Users will be free to arrange their space based on how their families and guests use it. An easily moved TV can help parents create a special movie night and then return to being a piece of furniture. A portable range can allow for tableside cooking and a creative communal dining experience. This vision of distributed, autonomous energy within our homes promises a revolution in both architectural design and lifestyle, making our living spaces more adaptable, resilient, and aligned with contemporary life.