Public perceptions on net zero energy houses in Japan

Koichi Yamaura, Siyi Xu, Masahiro Sugiyama and Yiyi Ju

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: For Japan, which has not operated nearly all of its nuclear power plants since 2011 and is dependent on thermal power generation, the introduction of renewable energy into homes is extremely important for the future formation of a sustainable society. However, the introduction of net zero energy house (ZEH) in detached houses, which account for 55% of all dwellings in Japan, has not progressed. To promote the introduction of ZEH, this study clarified the awareness of owners of detached houses regarding ZEH. We analyzed factors that influence such perception of solar photovoltaics (PV) technology using a 1000-sample online survey questionnaire. The survey was conducted in late January 2020 and included questions examining the public perception of solar installation and factors that were found to be important in previous research. We found that Japanese respondents who live in detached houses generally lack an understanding of renewables and that the level of interest in installing solar PV for the ZEH is low. We also found that awareness of renewables, such as knowing new energy policy and searching information on solar PV, is the critical factor of installing renewables. At the same time, most socio-demographic and neighborhood variables seem not to influence installing solar PV or other technologies for ZEH. This research will contribute to the Japanese government’s goal of strengthening education on renewable energy to promote ZEH.

Keywords: Japan; net zero energy houses; public perceptions; renewables; solar photovoltaics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J01 R14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 12 pages
Date: 2025-03-31
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-env
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Published in Sustainability Science, 31, March, 2025, 20(2), pp. 373 - 384. ISSN: 1862-4065

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:123711

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