Technology Acceptance as Part of the Energy Performance Gap in Energy-Efficient Retrofitted Dwellings

Florian Heesen (fheesen@eonerc.rwth-aachen.de) and Reinhard Madlener
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Florian Heesen: E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN)

No 25/2014, FCN Working Papers from E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN)

Abstract: This paper separates technological from human capabilities with regard to the operating of advanced heating systems. Our study shows that attitudes towards using such systems are equally influenced by a system's ease of use and its related thermal comfort as perceived by the user. However, the user does not perceive either of these influences directly; they are both mediated through the latent construct “perceived usefulness”. Our results reveal that in order to maximize the technology acceptance of advanced heating systems, the focus of interventions needs to be a twofold one. It is not only perceived thermal comfort – in its technological capacity of a delivered energy service – which is relevant; an easy-to-use system is equally important. The underlying psychological theory of this paper is that of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Using an adapted version of the technology acceptance model (TAM) – the energy TAM (eTAM) – we draw on questionnaire data from a field experiment conducted in Germany. The statistical inference is based on a partial least squares patch modeling (PLS-PM) approach.

Keywords: heat energy consumption; technology acceptance; rebound effect; perceived utility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 D81 O33 Q47 R22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2016-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-eur
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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