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

FCN Working Paper No. 25/2014

30 Pages Posted: 30 Mar 2016 Last revised: 1 Apr 2016

See all articles by Florian Heesen

Florian Heesen

RWTH Aachen University - Institute for Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN)

Reinhard Madlener

RWTH Aachen University; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) - Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management

Date Written: February 2016

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

JEL Classification: D12, D81, Q47, O33, R22

Suggested Citation

Heesen, Florian and Madlener, Reinhard, Technology Acceptance as Part of the Energy Performance Gap in Energy-Efficient Retrofitted Dwellings (February 2016). FCN Working Paper No. 25/2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2756484 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2756484

Florian Heesen (Contact Author)

RWTH Aachen University - Institute for Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN) ( email )

Mathieustrasse 6
Aachen, 52074
Germany

Reinhard Madlener

RWTH Aachen University ( email )

HOME PAGE: http://www.eonerc.rwth-aachen.de/fcn

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) - Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management ( email )

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.ntnu.edu/employees/reinhard.madlener

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