(Press-News.org) In an effort to better understand what persuades people to buy photovoltaic (PV) systems for their homes, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are gathering data on consumer motivations that can feed sophisticated computer models and thus lead to greater use of solar energy.
A primary goal of the project is to help increase the nation's share of solar energy in the electricity market from its current share of less than .05 percent to at least 14 percent by 2030. This is the second year of a three-year effort.
"If we can develop effective and accurate predictive models, we can help identify policy variables that could increase purchases of residential PV systems and ultimately help advance the mission of the SunShot Initiative," said Kiran Lakkaraju, Sandia's project lead. Specifically, he said, an effective model of solar purchase dynamics can be used to predict and even influence consumer purchasing decisions.
The modeling project, part of the Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies (SEEDS) program, is one of many activities in the Energy Department's SunShot Initiative, which seeks to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity. SEEDS projects are designed to investigate methods for transforming the operations of solar researchers, manufacturers, developers, installers and policymakers.
The projects will be discussed at a May 22 workshop at the Department of Energy's SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. The event takes place May 19-22 in Anaheim, Calif.
Sandia's solar energy program includes deep research and development in areas such as PV systems, concentrating solar power, grid integration and solar codes and standards.
Computer models predict homeowners' likelihood to buy, invest in PV systems
Sandia's approach is to collect and analyze large amounts of data, said Jerry McNeish, manager of the labs' quantitative modeling and analysis group. The information has led to two different models, one that predicts how likely an individual is to buy a PV system and one that predicts how long that individual will take to make the investment.
Working with project partners at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE), project researchers are conducting surveys of consumers in San Diego County, including 1,000 respondents who have bought PV systems and another 1,000 who have not. Data from the surveys will be studied by Sandia and Vanderbilt University quantitative modeling experts and fed into modeling tools.
CCSE leads the market characterization of the San Diego regional solar market, including focus groups, pilot programs and field testing of messages.
Experiments analyze effectiveness of incentives, framing of messages
Additional data is being collected for the Sandia project via a field experiment conducted by collaborator The Vote Solar Initiative, which will analyze how consumers respond to economic incentives, discounts and even peer effects when friends, family or co-workers purchase PV systems.
Another experiment, conducted online by The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, is exploring how the framing of messages can influence whether consumers will invest the time to learn more about installing PV systems. Researchers will examine how different demographic segments are influenced by messages and will study the influence of such issues as environmental awareness, energy independence, information about life events and how messages are received.
Other predictive variables, including the square footage of homes, the national unemployment rate and even seemingly inconsequential factors, such as whether consumers own a swimming pool, are also part of the models.
Consumer data models will help identify likely solar buyers
"We're essentially creating a model that predicts household solar energy system purchases based on such variables as price, energy savings, environmental concerns and other factors," said Lakkaraju. "But then we're also running experiments that feed results back into the model. We have a cycle where we use the model to test and generate hypotheses about solar panel purchases, but then we test these hypotheses through experiments to improve the model."
The Sandia-developed models, Lakkaraju said, have already predicted purchasing behavior 200-500 percent better than current models.
The team also is investigating novel financing structures that go beyond straightforward "purchases," such as third-party ownership through leasing or power purchasing agreements. These aren't strictly purchases yet are seen as key to the industry's growth, Lakkaraju said.
The research team will test their modeling tools, recommendations and draft guidance on using the models in additional field experiments.
"The significance of this work is that it will help identify those likely to purchase PV systems and help forecast future market trends," said Lakkaraju. "Ultimately, it will help those in the solar industry to more effectively bring solar energy to consumers."
INFORMATION:
Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies and economic competitiveness.
Sandia news media contact: Mike Janes, mejanes@sandia.gov, (925) 294-2447
Planting the 'SEEDS' of solar technology in the home
Data-rich predictive models help determine which consumers buy solar equipment and why
2014-05-20
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
E-cigarette use for quitting smoking is associated with improved success rates
2014-05-20
People attempting to quit smoking without professional help are approximately 60% more likely to report succeeding if they use e-cigarettes than if they use willpower alone or over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapies such as patches or gum, finds a large UCL (University College London) survey of smokers in England. (1) The results were adjusted for a wide range of factors that might influence success at quitting, including age, nicotine dependence, previous quit attempts, and whether quitting was gradual or abrupt.
The study, published in Addiction, surveyed 5,863 ...
Prolaris® test predicts mortality risk in prostate cancer biopsy study
2014-05-20
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 20, 2014 – Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) today presented new data from a clinical validation study of Prolaris at the 2014 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla. The study is the largest validation study to date of any gene-based prognostic test in patients with prostate cancer who were diagnosed by needle biopsy. A key finding was that the Prolaris test accurately differentiated newly diagnosed patients who were likely to die from prostate cancer within 10 years from those with lower-risk disease, which ...
Testing a paleo diet hypothesis in the test tube
2014-05-20
By comparing how gut microbes from human vegetarians and grass-grazing baboons digest different diets, researchers have shown that ancestral human diets, so called "paleo" diets, did not necessarily result in better appetite suppression. The study, published in mBio® the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, reveals surprising relationships between diet and the release of hormones that suppress eating.
While Western diets have changed dramatically in the last century to become high energy, low fiber, and high fat (think: cheeseburger), ...
Global progress in preventing newborn deaths and stillbirths hindered by inadequate investment, leadership, measurement and accountability
2014-05-20
A major new Series of papers, published today [Tuesday 20 May] in The Lancet, presents the clearest picture to date of progress and challenges in improving newborn survival around the world, and sets targets that must be achieved by 2030 in order to ensure every newborn has a healthy start.
The research is led by Professor Joy Lawn, at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Save the Children, UK, with Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta at the Hospital for Sick Children, Canada, and the Aga Khan University, Pakistan, in collaboration with more than 54 experts from ...
New figures on global newborn deaths and stillbirths reveal 5.5 million 'invisible deaths' every year
2014-05-20
A major new Series of papers, published today [Tuesday 20 May] in The Lancet, presents the clearest picture to date of progress and challenges in improving newborn survival around the world, and sets targets that must be achieved by 2030 in order to ensure every newborn has a healthy start.
The research is led by Professor Joy Lawn, at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Save the Children, UK, with Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta at the Hospital for Sick Children, Canada, and the Aga Khan University, Pakistan, in collaboration with more than 54 experts from ...
Analysis reveals triple return on investment to save 3 million mothers' and babies' lives annually
2014-05-20
A major new Series of papers, published today [Tuesday 20 May] in The Lancet, presents the clearest picture to date of progress and challenges in improving newborn survival around the world, and sets targets that must be achieved by 2030 in order to ensure every newborn has a healthy start.
The research is led by Professor Joy Lawn, at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Save the Children, UK, with Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta at the Hospital for Sick Children, Canada, and the Aga Khan University, Pakistan, in collaboration with more than 54 experts from ...
First ever consultation of countries with highest newborn death rates underlines urgent need for more investment, medicines, and health workers
2014-05-20
A major new Series of papers, published today [Tuesday 20 May] in The Lancet, presents the clearest picture to date of progress and challenges in improving newborn survival around the world, and sets targets that must be achieved by 2030 in order to ensure every newborn has a healthy start.
The research is led by Professor Joy Lawn, at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Save the Children, UK, with Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta at the Hospital for Sick Children, Canada, and the Aga Khan University, Pakistan, in collaboration with more than 54 experts from ...
Action plan will provide blueprint for progress, but preventable newborn deaths will be eliminated only with political commitment
2014-05-20
A major new Series of papers, published today [Tuesday 20 May] in The Lancet, presents the clearest picture to date of progress and challenges in improving newborn survival around the world, and sets targets that must be achieved by 2030 in order to ensure every newborn has a healthy start.
The research is led by Professor Joy Lawn, at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Save the Children, UK, with Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta at the Hospital for Sick Children, Canada, and the Aga Khan University, Pakistan, in collaboration with more than 54 experts from ...
A call to arms in cancer research
2014-05-19
SAN ANTONIO (May 19, 2014) — Hispanics are the fastest-growing demographic group in the United States, and they suffer from major health disparities, including higher rates of cancers of the cervix, stomach and liver.
However, their enrollment levels in cancer clinical trials seeking to cure these problems is abysmally low: 3.9 percent.
In a paper published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, three physicians from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio analyzed Hispanic accrual rates to randomized clinical trials, and in response to the ...
Breastfeeding initiation and success is impacted by diabetes status of mother
2014-05-19
Women diagnosed with diabetes before or during pregnancy are less likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding their newborns than women without diabetes, a new study suggests. Led by clinician-scientists in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and collaborating institutions, the findings point to areas for improved prenatal and postnatal education of women with diabetes.
The study, published in the May issue of the journal Public Health Nutrition, analyzed data from the 2009-2011 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), which is administered ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Walking, moving more may lower risk of cardiovascular death for women with cancer history
Intracortical neural interfaces: Advancing technologies for freely moving animals
Post-LLM era: New horizons for AI with knowledge, collaboration, and co-evolution
“Sloshing” from celestial collisions solves mystery of how galactic clusters stay hot
Children poisoned by the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, has risen in the U.S. – eight years of national data shows
USC researchers observe mice may have a form of first aid
VUMC to develop AI technology for therapeutic antibody discovery
Unlocking the hidden proteome: The role of coding circular RNA in cancer
Advancing lung cancer treatment: Understanding the differences between LUAD and LUSC
Study reveals widening heart disease disparities in the US
The role of ubiquitination in cancer stem cell regulation
New insights into LSD1: a key regulator in disease pathogenesis
Vanderbilt lung transplant establishes new record
Revolutionizing cancer treatment: targeting EZH2 for a new era of precision medicine
Metasurface technology offers a compact way to generate multiphoton entanglement
Effort seeks to increase cancer-gene testing in primary care
Acoustofluidics-based method facilitates intracellular nanoparticle delivery
Sulfur bacteria team up to break down organic substances in the seabed
Stretching spider silk makes it stronger
Earth's orbital rhythms link timing of giant eruptions and climate change
Ammonia build-up kills liver cells but can be prevented using existing drug
New technical guidelines pave the way for widespread adoption of methane-reducing feed additives in dairy and livestock
Eradivir announces Phase 2 human challenge study of EV25 in healthy adults infected with influenza
New study finds that tooth size in Otaria byronia reflects historical shifts in population abundance
nTIDE March 2025 Jobs Report: Employment rate for people with disabilities holds steady at new plateau, despite February dip
Breakthrough cardiac regeneration research offers hope for the treatment of ischemic heart failure
Fluoride in drinking water is associated with impaired childhood cognition
New composite structure boosts polypropylene’s low-temperature toughness
While most Americans strongly support civics education in schools, partisan divide on DEI policies and free speech on college campuses remains
Revolutionizing surface science: Visualization of local dielectric properties of surfaces
[Press-News.org] Planting the 'SEEDS' of solar technology in the homeData-rich predictive models help determine which consumers buy solar equipment and why