Home energy storage: A characterization of potential adopters in Germany
32 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2018 Last revised: 19 Sep 2022
Date Written: February 18, 2021
Abstract
Home energy storage (HES) poses a promising option to foster flexible electricity demand and grid-stabilising self-supply. Understanding the characteristics of potential storage adopters and their motives for adopting is essential to enable targeted measures to promote diffusion. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of motivational and psychological factors as well as product characteristics that affect the willingness to adopt domestic energy storage. Based on a selective sample of solar panel owners as the main energy storage target group, we find that potential adopters differ systematically in their evaluation of economic and non-economic characteristics of home energy storage. Using correlation-based average linkage clustering, we identify four distinct types of storage adopters: finance-oriented, independence-oriented, idealistic and multilaterally oriented households. Our findings emphasise that segment-specific policy strategies and support mechanisms are needed to stimulate HES adoption to pave the way for a sustainable energy system.
Keywords: Energy storage, Consumer segmentation, Adoption decision, Innovation diffusion
JEL Classification: C38, D12, D91, O33, Q21, Q55
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