Abstract
The adoption of residential photovoltaic systems (PV) is seen as an important part of the sustainable energy transition. To facilitate this process, it is crucial to identify the determinants of solar adoption. This paper follows a meta-analytical structural equation modeling approach, presenting a meta-analysis of studies on residential PV adoption intention, and assessing four behavioral models based on the theory of planned behavior to advance theory development. Of 653 initially identified studies, 110 remained for full-text screening. Only eight studies were sufficiently homogeneous, provided bivariate correlations, and could thus be integrated into the meta-analysis. The pooled correlations across primary studies revealed medium to large correlations between environmental concern, novelty seeking, perceived benefits, subjective norm and intention to adopt a residential PV system, whereas socio-demographic variables were uncorrelated with intention. Meta-analytical structural equation modeling revealed a model (N = 1,714) in which adoption intention was predicted by benefits and perceived behavioral control (R2 = .280), and benefits in turn could be explained by environmental concern, novelty seeking, and subjective norm (R2 = .641). Our results imply that measures should primarily focus on enhancing the perception of benefits. Based on obstacles we encountered within the analysis, we suggest guidelines to facilitate the future aggregation of scientific evidence, such as the systematic inclusion of key variables and reporting of bivariate correlations.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 102339 |
Journal | Energy Research and Social Science |
Volume | 84 |
Number of pages | 24 |
ISSN | 2214-6296 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Emily Schulte and Fabian Scheller receive funding from the project SUSIC (Smart Utilities and Sustainable Infrastructure Change) with the project number 100378087. The project is financed by the Saxon State government out of the State budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament. Fabian Scheller also kindly acknowledges the financial support of the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 713683 (COFUNDfellowsDTU).
Funding Information:
Emily Schulte and Fabian Scheller receive funding from the project SUSIC (Smart Utilities and Sustainable Infrastructure Change) with the project number 100378087 . The project is financed by the Saxon State government out of the State budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament. Fabian Scheller also kindly acknowledges the financial support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 713683 (COFUNDfellowsDTU).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords
- Meta-analysis
- Reporting standards
- Residential sector
- Rooftop photovoltaic
- Single study issues
- Theory of planned behavior