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Residential Solar Water Heater Adoption Behaviour: A Review of Economic and Technical Predictors and Their Correlation with the Adoption Decision

Author

Listed:
  • Sara Ghaboulian Zare

    (Industrial Engineering Department, Sadjad University, Mashhad 91886, Iran)

  • Reza Hafezi

    (Science and Technology Futures Studies, National Research Institute for Science Policy, Tehran 1435894461, Iran)

  • Mohammad Alipour

    (School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Southport, QLD 4222, Australia
    Cities Research Institute, Griffith University, Southport, QLD 4222, Australia)

  • Reza Parsaei Tabar

    (Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad 91779, Iran)

  • Rodney A. Stewart

    (School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Southport, QLD 4222, Australia
    Cities Research Institute, Griffith University, Southport, QLD 4222, Australia)

Abstract

The successful deployment of the solar water heater (SWH) in the residential sector relies on the household’s bounded rational decision-makers to accept this system. The decision is shaped by a wide spectrum of predictors that form heterogeneous behaviour. Over the past years, research has employed a wide range of these predictors to understand their role in the decision and predict the behaviour and diffusion rate of SWHs. This review primarily identifies economic and technical predictors of 100 quantitative and qualitative studies on the residential SWH adoption decision. For the identified predictors, their characteristics and popularity are explored in a structured and coherent framework. The review further investigates the correlation between the identified predictors and the adoption decision from 97 of the 100 initially reviewed studies. The outcome of the research revealed 123 (56 economic and 67 technical) predictors that were classified into seven categories. ‘Financial incentives’ and ‘perceived attitude towards government policies’ are among the most popular economic predictors, whereas ‘house type’ and ‘knowledge of SWH’ were the most frequent technical factors in the research. Analysing the correlation between 99 predictors and the decision also unfolded that certain attitudinal attributes have a stronger influence on the residential SWH take-up than some common factors (e.g., electricity cost, technical variables).

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Ghaboulian Zare & Reza Hafezi & Mohammad Alipour & Reza Parsaei Tabar & Rodney A. Stewart, 2021. "Residential Solar Water Heater Adoption Behaviour: A Review of Economic and Technical Predictors and Their Correlation with the Adoption Decision," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-26, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:20:p:6630-:d:655777
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