Not All about the Money: The Role of Financial Information in Promoting Residential Rooftop Photovoltaics

David Boaz, Ruslana Rachel Palatnik, Ofira Ayalon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study investigates the role of financial information in shaping the intention to adopt (ITA) Residential Rooftop Photovoltaic (RPV) systems in Israel—a country with a surprisingly low RPV adoption rate given the high solar irradiance, and significant governmental support for RPV. We used an online survey of 899 respondents to examine how different presentations of RPV revenues impact both RPV deal comprehension and ITA. Our results align with existing literature on the roles of early technology adopters and pro-environmental characteristics while introducing two novel findings. First, households value their roofs—especially flat ones used for leisure. This negatively impacts ITA. Second, we found a positive correlation between trust in government entities and ITA, underscoring the importance of trust in institutions. Although financial information does enhance RPV deal comprehension, it does not significantly influence ITA. This study concludes that RPV penetration should not be promoted solely by financial incentives, but also by other motivations like environmental concerns, novelty seeking, and improved institutional trust.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2043
JournalEnergies
Volume17
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.

Keywords

  • Residential Photovoltaics
  • financial information
  • photovoltaic adoption
  • willingness to accept

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Fuel Technology
  • Engineering (miscellaneous)
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Energy (miscellaneous)
  • Control and Optimization
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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