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Title: New trends in solar: A comparative study assessing the attitudes towards the adoption of rooftop PV

Journal Article · · Energy Policy
 [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems CSE, Boston, MA (United States)
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The factors affecting the adoption of conventional solar PV have been broadly addressed in the recent literature. However, it is still to determine the public's acceptance of innovations of the traditional solar PV architecture. Building applied photovoltaic technology (BAPV) is a technological innovation that can be installed over existing building surfaces. This study compares an evaluation of the conscious and subconscious attitudinal, control and normative beliefs of American homeowners when randomly primed with two brochures depicting the purchasing, installation, and commissioning of solar PV systems, developed according to the characteristics of conventional and an adhesive “plug and play” BAPV system. The survey instrument (N = 400 survey participants) was designed in consonance to the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). When comparing the direct measures for each solar PV technology, no significant differences were found. This may indicate that for those unfamiliar with PV technology, placing an adhesive backing module on the roof is standard procedure and does not impact purchasing intentions. The evaluation further showed that unlike the subconscious control beliefs, social norms and attitudes have a significant impact on forming intentions to adopt solar PV. The implications of these findings for strategy, policy and future research are explored.

Research Organization:
Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems CSE, Boston, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
Grant/Contract Number:
EE0006035; 1541148
OSTI ID:
1613327
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1547858
Journal Information:
Energy Policy, Vol. 128; ISSN 0301-4215
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 40 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Figures / Tables (29)

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building-applied photovoltaics (BAPV)
solar PV
PV adoption
Theory of Planned Behavior
structural equation modeling