Behavioural responses to photovoltaic systems in the UK domestic sector

By James Keirstead. 2007

240 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Microgeneration—the generation of electricity and/or heat within the home—has recently become a notable addition to UK energy policy debates. Specifically research has suggested that, as well as providing renewable energy, these technologies might encourage changes in household energy consumption. The research presented here investigates this ‘double-dividend’ effect using PV households in the UK. It is shown that the installation of PV encouraged households to reduce their overall electricity consumption by approximately 6% and shift demand to times of peak generation. From a household perspective, system performance monitors had the most notable influence on these behavioural responses; however evolving industry arrangements for metering and microgeneration tariffs will be central in determining the future role of consumers. The paper therefore concludes that the full benefits of microgeneration can only be realised if informed households are integrated within supportive industry and government frameworks.

Subfields: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Pollution, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/08b561a1fa768688a019f7e3d9552f74e6092f1e

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In Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

In Pollution

In Sociology and Political Science

Citations in the corpus

Taking risks in the face of uncertainty: An exploratory analysis of green innovation (2016, background): “a key element of developing cost-effective wind and solar energy (Keirstead, 2007; Shum and Watanabe, 2008).”
What role for microgeneration in a shift to a low carbon domestic energy sector in the UK? (2011, background): “Uncertainty surrounding grants causes installers to focus on maximising sales, sometimes unaware of their ability to influence consumers’ behaviour (Keirstead 2007).”
The impact of attribute preferences on adoption timing: The case of photo-voltaic (PV) solar cells for household electricity generation (2013, background): “However, Keirstead (2007) reports that adopters of photovoltaic technology in the UK were, compared to the national average; older, wealthier, better educated and more likely to own their own home.”
The design of eco-feedback technology (2010, background): “Two of the most commonly reported eco-feedback designs in environmental psychology: (left) a simple LCD display [32]; (right) a bar chart showing current and historical consumption data [13].”
Diffusion of environmentally-friendly energy technologies: buy versus lease differences in residential PV markets (2013, unknown): “…of more efficient and environmentally-friendly consumption and generation devices (Taylor 2008), the nature of the individual’s decision-making process has come to sharper focus (Allcott and Mullainathan 2010, Dietz 2010, Drury et al 2011, Jager 2006, Keirstead 2007, Bollinger and Gillingham 2012).”
Energy self-sufficiency, grid demand variability and consumer costs: Integrating solar PV, Stirling engine CHP and battery storage (2015, background): “Some studies suggest that demand may shift in order to reduce cost or maximise self-generated electricity [47,48], although a change is not guaranteed and may depend on a number of other social factors [49].”