Not all homeowners are alike: a segmentation model based on a quantitative analysis of Dutch adopters of residential photovoltaics

Abstract

The implementation of residential photovoltaics must increase more rapidly to combat climate change and its impacts. This challenge is addressed in this study by introducing a segmentation model in order to develop a theoretical and empirical foundation for understanding the heterogeneity of potential adopters. Data were collected by means of a survey among Dutch adopters (n = 1395) and the data is analysed with statistical descriptive analyses and nonparametric tests. The five segmentation groups are divided by the homeowners’ educational background or profession (technical, financial-economic or other) and level of environmental concern. The results demonstrate that the groups are substantial in size and that there are significant differences between these groups on personal characteristics such as homeowners’ level of environmental concern and the level of influence of their social network on their decision to adopt. In addition, significant differences are found between the groups on the perceived characteristics of the residential photovoltaics such as perceived complexity and aesthetics, and the amount of previous practice with other energy measures in their home. Accordingly, these insights can be used by policymakers and the public and private sectors to promote residential photovoltaics more effectively by targeting the segmentation groups more adequately. The different groups will be drawn to different aspects and therefore, a broader pallet of benefits must be presented; a mix of different communication channels must be used; objective and non-technical assistance in the decision-making must be offered; and different kind of products must be provided.

Understanding the decision-making process in homeowner energy retrofits

“…Households in the Netherlands perceive the local authority or housing association programme managers as third parties and resist their proposed measures to improve the sustainability of buildings. The importance of the right messages and different communication channels was also supported by Broers et al [60]; Brander, et al, [54]; Steenbekkers and Scholte [419].…”

“…Building and household characteristics ranked first and second, respectively. Public and private companies need to provide tailored solutions for different groups of buildings and households as also supported by Broers et al [60]; Vega, et al [461]; A. Steenbekkers et al [418]. As mentioned earlier, the data have also shown the importance of personal factors in the decision-making process.…”

“…Only few studies have comprehensively investigated the factors influencing homeowners' behaviours on different types of energy retrofits [60,71,217]. The third chapter examined the impacts of this category of factors on the most common types of energy retrofits in the Netherlands using regression analyses.…”

A Systematic Literature Review of the Interplay between Renewable Energy Systems and Occupant Practices

“…Homeowners can be divided into groups based on their educational background, level of environmental concern and level of influence of their social network [114]. These groups have different views on rooftop solar PV and their perceived complexity, aesthetics and impact on energy costs.…”

Are energy decisions about energy?

“…A key advantage of BIPV is that these products have improved aesthetic qualities compared to traditional PV. Moreover, prior research points out that these improved aesthetics can increase society's social acceptance of renewables (Broers et al, 2021;Gholami et al, 2019;Hille et al, 2018;Petrovich et al, 2019), thus facilitating the transition to a low-carbon society.…”