Potential market for solar equipment among California homeowners. Final report

Technical Report · Tue Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

OSTI ID:6551325

Leonard-Barton, D; Rogers, E M; Avi-Itzhak, T; Patel, I

The purpose of the research reported herein is to determine what is the nature of the potential market for residential solar equipment among California homeowners. The present study of 812 California homeowners builds upon a pilot study of 111 solar equipment owners and 104 of their nearby neighbors (Rogers and others, 1979). At present, seven out of eight California homeowners are at least aware of residential users in solar energy, but the majority have little current intention to purchase. About one-fourth knows someone who owns a solar residential system. The number of solar owners with whom homeowners are acquainted is a crucial influence on their intention to purchase solar equipment themselves. Other important predictors of intent to buy are: the number of years respondents believe it will take for solar equipment to pay for itself, attitudes about the viability of residential solar equipment, the extent to which respondents tend towards a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity, and the homeowners' socio-economic status. These five variables predict 46% of the total variance in interest and intention to puchase residential solar equipment.

• Research Organization: Stanford Univ., CA (USA). Inst. for Communication Research
• OSTI ID: 6551325
• Report Number(s): P-400-80-034
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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CALIFORNIA
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT
HEATING SYSTEMS
MARKETING RESEARCH
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SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS
SURVEYS
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WESTERN REGION