El mercado de las revistas

The perceived advantage of an innovation, relative to the accepted way of doing things, has been shown to increase its rate of adoption. Relative advantage means that the new way of doing things—in this case, including GPV in Colorado’s energy mix—offers advantages over other approaches or over simply maintaining the status quo.

A basic question is the extent to which people are aware

of the current way in which electricity is produced. To test people’s knowledge on this situation, the survey asked: From which source do you think most of the electricity used in Colorado is currently produced? Only slightly more than half of the respondents know Colorado’s current primary source of electricity. A majority of respondents is aware that most electricity in Colorado is produced from coal (52%). However, 48% have an incorrect perception, believing that most comes from natural gas (27%), hydropower (12%), oil (6%), and other sources such as nuclear, solar, or wind. Of course, the source of electricity varies by utility company. For example, 50% of the electricity in the City of Fort Collins comes from hydropower, while 98% of Public Service Company’s electricity comes from coal. Still, the question addressed electricity used in the state as a whole (Table 4).

Perceived Benefits of Using GPV

The qualitative research conducted prior to this survey indicated that homeowners interested in purchasing GPV mentioned the following reasons for their interest, categorized as altruism, environmental concerns, economic and financial benefits, and values (Farhar and Buhrmann 1998, pp. 13-20):

Have a standing interest in renewables or technology Want to create/expand the PV market

Believe PV use has positive environmental impacts and avoids the negative impacts of other electricity sources

Value self-sufficiency

Want to educate others about PV Want financial breakeven over 20 years.

Table 4. Perceived Sources of Electricity in Colorado

Electricity source % Coal 52 Natural gas 27 Hydropower 12 Oil 6 Nuclear 1 Solar 1 Wind --* Other 1 Totals 100 Base n 2441 *Less than 0.5%.

Source: Constructed by the authors.

Such ideas, along with others frequently mentioned, were encompassed by the questionnaire. Specifically, respondents were asked the following question about the perceived benefits of GPV.

Listed below are some possible benefits of using a grid-tied PV system. On a scale of 1 to 10, please indicate how important each benefit would be to you if you were considering purchasing this kind of a system for your home.

Not at all Very

important important

Table 5 summarizes findings on the importance of these benefits if respondents were considering purchasing a GPV system for their homes. The table lists the mean score from the primary sample for each of 23 potential benefits, as well as three associated response percentages: “10” on a 1-10 scale, with 1 = “Not at all important” and 10 = “Very important”; the percentage of respondents assigning 8, 9, 10 ratings; and the percentage of respondents assigning ratings of 7, 8, 9, 10. This data arrangement shows the percentages giving each potential benefit the greatest importance (a 10 rating), strong importance (an 8, 9, 10 rating), or, simply, importance (a 7, 8, 9, 10 rating). Benefits are listed in the table from high to low according to the sizes of their mean scores.

Seven of the 23 potential benefits of using GPV systems receive mean importance ratings of 8.0+, and five of the seven receive 8, 9, 10 ratings by at least 75% of respondents. The seven potential benefits receiving the highest scores, on average, are divided between long-term environmental benefits (4), including conserving natural resources, and homeowner financial benefits (3), including reducing electricity bills right away and long-term savings. A GPV marketing campaign focused on these seven benefits may increase homeowner interest and purchasing.

In a second group are five potential benefits with mean importance of 7.5 to 7.8. The percentage of respondents assigning the strong 8,9,10 ratings ranges from 59% to 68%. This second group of benefits focuses largely on energy self-sufficiency and financial gain.

A third group of three potential benefits has average scores ranging from 7.2 to 7.4. The percentage of respondents assigning 8,9,10 ratings ranges from 54% to 57%. Two of these focus on GPV benefits for Colorado’s economy, whereas the third focuses on increased energy diversity.

The remainder of the potential benefits receive lower average scores. The least important potential benefits are profitable for utility companies (14% rating this 8,9,10) and being first on the block to have a PV system (8% rating this 8,9,10).

Given that marketing and public information campaigns can communicate only a limited number of potential benefits, the first group of benefits should form the hub of marketing communications, especially advertising. The second and third groups are unlikely to add persuasiveness unless they can be seen as amplifying those in the top group. For example, good for Colorado's economy is probably a no-added-gain message, while increased energy diversity may amplify conserve natural resources.

Table 5. Perceived Benefits of GPV System Purchase

Potential system benefits Mean* %10 %8,9,10 %7,8,9,10

Result in long-term energy cost savings 8.5 50 78 86

Help reduce air pollution and acid rain in our area 8.5 49 78 84

Conserve natural resources 8.4 46 77 85

Benefit future generations 8.4 49 75 82

Reduce electricity bills right away 8.3 50 73 82

Help protect the environment 8.3 45 75 82

Increase resale value of home 8.0 40 69 79

Help reduce global warming 7.8 44 68 75

Have electricity during a power outage 7.8 37 66 76

Sell excess electricity back to utility company 7.7 39 62 71

Pay for itself over system lifetime 7.7 37 61 72

Increase self sufficiency 7.5 33 59 70

Increase diversity of energy sources 7.4 26 57 70

Help create jobs for Colorado 7.3 26 55 68

Good for Colorado’s economy 7.2 24 54 68

Encourages others to replace gas and coal use 6.8 22 49 62

Feels good to do this 6.3 20 40 51

Increase awareness of household energy use 6.0 15 35 46

An opportunity to make a difference in community 5.9 13 32 44

Help to create and expand PV market 5.3 11 27 38

A new technology to enjoy 5.0 10 24 33

Profitable for utility companies 3.9 6 14 20

First on block to have PV system 2.8 5 8 10

*See Appendix C for base n’s, means, standard deviations, and coefficients of variation for each item.

Section Highlights

The survey asked about 18 potential concerns or barriers to PV system purchase

Barriers could reduce the perceived relative advantage of buying and owning a GPV system Perceived operating reliability of PV systems

and reliability of PV providers are important Initial system cost and maintenance costs are

key concerns

Homeowners care about the reputation of PV manufacturers and vendors

A concern is whether the utility company will continue service and support to GPV purchasers

Perceived Barriers to GPV Adoption

As markets become more familiar with GPV systems, questions arise about potential concerns if one were to become the owner of such a system. Many such concerns were raised during the qualitative interviews conducted prior to the survey, expressed either as questions people have about owning and operating a GPV system or problems that need to be resolved. For advocates of renewables, these concerns are not significant enough to preclude them from saying they want to purchase a system. However, for homeowners not currently dedicated to the use of renewables, such concerns—if they remain unaddressed or unresolved—could be an impediment to GPV system purchase.

Concerns about the Risk of Adopting GPV Even among respondents in the qualitative study deeply interested in purchasing GPV systems with

estimated costs of $8,000 or $12,000, enthusiasm is moderated by a degree of caution. Most respondents express some concerns. Economic and financial concerns are mentioned frequently, including concern about high initial system cost, fair pricing for electricity purchased by the utility, and whether the utility company would continue its involvement with GPV once they had purchased their systems.

Other concerns include how vulnerable PV systems would be to weather extremes, uncertainties about system longevity, system efficiency in converting sunlight to electricity, and the quality of PV power. Health and safety concerns are also mentioned frequently, including such issues as potential roof damage during system installation, grid-surge effects on the system, danger to utility linemen, and the potential for vandalism. Other issues include liability or liability insurance, the need for battery recycling, and the amount of space required for a PV system (Farhar and Buhrmann 1998). All these issues were encompassed by the questionnaire. Perceived Barriers

The questionnaire asked respondents to rank on a scale of 1-10 the importance of 18 potential concerns or barriers to PV system purchase.

Here is a list of conditions you might see as problems with grid-tied PV. For each condition on the list, please indicate on a 1 to 10 scale, how important a concern it would be for you, if you were thinking about adding PV to your home.

Not at all Very

Table 6 summarizes findings on the importance of these potential concerns if respondents were considering purchasing a GPV system for their homes. The table lists the mean score for each of 18 potential concerns about owning a GPV system, as well as three associated response percentages: “10” on a 1-10 scale, with 1 = “Not at all important” and 10 = “Very important”; the percentage of respondents assigning strong 8, 9, 10 ratings, and the percentage of respondents assigning ratings of 7, 8, 9, 10. This data arrangement shows the percentages giving the potential concern the greatest importance (the 10 rating), strong importance (an 8, 9, 10 rating), or, simply, importance (a 7, 8, 9, 10 rating). Entries in the table are organized from high to low according to the size of the mean scores.

Table 6. Potential Barriers to GPV System Purchase

Perceived barriers to purchase Mean* %10 %8,9,10 %7,8,9,10

Operating reliability of PV system 9.3 64 93 97

Amount of electricity produced by the PV system 9.2 59 91 95

Initial cost of PV system 9.1 64 89 94

Dependability and reputability of PV manufacturer 9.1 59 89 95

Expense of maintaining a PV system 9.0 58 87 94

Dependability and reputability of PV vendor 9.0 57 87 93

Utility company might stop service and support 8.8 58 83 88

Possible damage to system by storms, vandalism, etc. 8.8 53 82 89

Amount of time needed to maintain PV system 8.8 50 83 91

Getting PV system covered under home insurance 8.6 49 80 88

Safety of PV system power 8.5 53 78 83

Effect on property taxes 8.5 47 76 85

Suitability of my site for a PV system 8.5 46 76 85

System could become outdated technologically 8.3 45 73 81

Effect on resale value of home 8.3 43 74 83

Amount of space needed for PV system 8.3 41 73 83

Codes or covenants that might prohibit it 7.7 42 65 72

What friends and neighbors might say 3.7 7 14 18

*See Appendix C for base n’s, standard deviations, and coefficients of variation for each item.

However, this concern differentiated among respondents—see the discussion on perceived barriers in 2

Chapter 6.

Section Highlights

The survey asked about 15 information needs