Comparing Solar Water Heater Popularization Policies in China, Israel and Australia: The Roles of Governments in Adopting Green Innovations

Abstract

Studying the roles of governments in adopting green innovations is significant for analysing the transition to a more sustainable energy system. This article presents a comparative study of policies for popularizing domestic solar water heaters in three countries: China, Israel and Australia. Expanding the analysis beyond the economics of innovation, it demonstrates the institutional dimension of green technology deployment in these three countries. By examining the diverging roles of governments in facilitating green technology adoption in existing social routines and practices, it finds that governments' motivations, support and implementation mechanisms are remarkably different in these three countries. In particular, the paper argues that solar water heater popularization has been distinguished as a business opportunity in China, energy security in Israel and environmental responsibility in Australia. In addition, the institutional settings have a real impact on governments' roles in adopting green innovations, in terms of the policy instruments chosen and implementation mechanisms.1 In this paper, 'SWH' refers to a system composed of a solar collector, a storage tank and a fluid system to move the heated water to its point of use.

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Evaluation of Space and Water Heating in Urban Residential Buildings of the Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone in China

“…From the viewpoint of sustainability, EWHs should be replaced by more sustainable water heating equipment/systems gradually. In Australia, the federal government offers financial packages ranging from $A1000 to $A1600 for households to replace EWHs with SWHs [27]. In Queensland, the use and sales of EWHs are banned [27].…”

“…In Australia, the federal government offers financial packages ranging from $A1000 to $A1600 for households to replace EWHs with SWHs [27]. In Queensland, the use and sales of EWHs are banned [27]. of SWHs with auxiliary electric heaters are all lower than those of ASHP water heaters to different degrees, and the PEE values fall below 100%.…”

Managing the Water-Energy Nexus within a Climate Change Context—Lessons from the Experience of Cuenca, Ecuador

“…One limitation of the IUWM methodology is that it does not integrate linkages of the water sector with the energy and other sectors in search of potential synergies. In contrast, there is an existing body of literature that deals with the methodological steps needed to carry out the assessment of technological solutions like solar water heater systems and hydroelectricity generation systems [19,20] that are not holistic enough to derive investment strategies for local urban authorities. Another limitation of the abovementioned approaches includes a lack of analysis of climate change-related effects.…”

Green transition of energy systems in rural China: National survey evidence of households’ discrete choices on water heaters

“…Economic factors are considered the most important factors for residents regarding the use of solar water heaters in China (Yuan et al, 2011). In rural China, however, there is no specific incentive policy targeting the deployment of the low-carbon product (Li et al, 2013). The four-year subsidy policy nested in "Home Appliances Going to the Countryside" programme expired in early 2013 (Ma et al, 2014).…”