An Investigation into Factors Influencing Solar Technology Adoption

This report investigates the factors influencing the adoption of solar panels and solar heaters among household owners in Gauteng, South Africa. The study addresses the country's reliance on coal for electricity generation and the environmental impact of this energy source. It explores the potential of renewable energy sources like solar panels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote green behavior. The research employs various theories, including the Theory of Reasoned Action, the Theory of Norm Activation, and the Theory of Planned Behavior, to analyze the factors affecting adoption, such as subjective knowledge, perceived social risk, subjective norms, usefulness, and willingness to pay. The literature review covers the South African energy industry, green behavior, and the Technology Acceptance Model, along with other factors influencing the acceptance of microgeneration technologies. The report highlights the importance of attitude and willingness to pay in determining household owners' decisions to adopt solar technology. The findings provide valuable insights into the barriers and drivers of solar panel adoption, offering recommendations to promote the use of renewable energy in South Africa.

Problem Statement challenge
Approximately 60% of air pollution is from energy supplies , about 89% of South
Africa’s electricity is produced using coal ( Inglesei , 2016) .South Africa’s electricity
sector plays a role in carbon emissions causing global warming, since the energy
sector depends particularly on coal to generate electricity( Pouris, 2016) .According
to Pfenninger (2015) the introduction of renewable electricity and technologies can
assist in reducing greenhouse gas emission .With renewable energy such as solar
panels / solar heaters introduced in South Africa , household owners have the
option to choose the type of electricity they prefer to use (Fechner ,2015) . Although
solar panels / solar heaters are not a recent development, the adaption of solar
panels / solar heaters is till behind and not popular in South Africa compared to other
countries( Walwyn, 2015) . Research conducted to investigate the adoption of solar
panels / solar heaters uncovered that only few of South African house hold owners
use solar panels / solar heater the majority still use non-renewable electricity
(Malinga , 2015)
According to Patt ( 2015) solar panels / solar heaters are still confronted with
obstacles such as financial barriers since it can be very expensive to install the
solar panels / solar heaters . A lack of awareness about the environmental benefits
of installing solar panels / solar heaters also act as a barrier to adoption of solar
panels / solar heaters (Patt et al. 2015). Jarbandhan (2018) state that energy sectors
are facing challenges with regards to urging household to switch to using solar
panels / solar heaters however the adoption rate is still slow. According to Wallin
(2014) not enough research have been conducted on the adoption of solar panels /
solar heaters in South Africa leaving a lack of understanding on how certain factors
affect the adoption of green electricity. This study therefore aims to f determine the
factors influencing adoption of solar technology in South Africa.
Research question

What are the factors influencing household owners adoption of solar panels /
solar heaters in Gauteng, South Africa?
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
The primary objective of this study is to investigate the factors that influence
household owner’s adoption of solar panels / solar heaters in Gauteng, South
Africa.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES
● To investigate how subjective knowledge affect behavioural intention to use
solar panels / solar heaters.
● To investigate household owners perception on perceived social risk related
to adopting solar panels / solar heaters.
● To determine how household owners subjective norm will influence their
attitudes towards adoption of solar panels / solar heaters.
● To assess household owners perception on ‘usefulness’ regarding solar
panels / solar heaters.
● To determine household owners willingness to for solar panels / solar
heaters.
Literature review

Introduction
1.1 The South African Energy industry
South Africa has a well-developed energy system. According to keho (2016) the
main challenges that are currently facing the energy sector globally are ensuring that
the high demand of electricity is fulfilled. Energy suppliers need to take measures to
lower greenhouse gas emissions (Annegarn, 2016).
According to Evans (2015) South Africa’s energy sector utilises more than 90 million
coals per year to produce electricity, leading the energy sector to be one of the
causes of greenhouse emission. According to Brent (2015) South Africa’s energy
suppliers rely heavily on the use fossil fuels and coal. Technologies such as solar
panels/ were introduced in South Africa to provide relief relating to environmental
damage and the uncertainty of reliable electricity supply (Baker, 2016).
Green behaviour
Green refers to behaviour that is not harmful to the environment, consuming products
and services that are environmentally friendly (Tate, 2014). Bassi (2014)
supported this statement adding that green behaviour minimise unfriendly
environmental practices .Green behaviour has been driven by environmental
problems facing south Africa with the aim to reduce environmental damage
(Smith, 2017). According to Venter (2014) installing solar water heaters/ solar
panels is perceived as green behaviour in a sense that solar water heaters/ solar
panels use sunlight to generate electricity with no gas emissions.
According to kwamoto (2015) Solar panels are environmentally friendly since they do
not produce air pollution. According to Azimoh (2015) the estimated amount to
purchase solar water heater may cost a home owner R18, 000 to 30, 000 in
South Africa .The high cost of installing solar water heaters/ solar panels may
prevent green behaviour because household owners may have to use electricity
provided by energy suppliers (Azimoh et al., (2015)

2.2 Theories in green behaviour
Theory of Reasoned Action
The Theory of Reasoned Action is explained as an model that can explain behaviour
( Ajzen 1975). According to Reiter (2017) the theory of Reasoned Action suggests
that the intention to perform behaviour is impacted by subjective norms and attitude
towards intention and behaviour. Akman( 2014) The purpose of the model is to
forecast the individuals behaviour in situations where an she or he is in controls of
his/her own behaviour .
Theory of Norm activation
The NAM theory was developed by Schwartz (1977) to examine environmentally
friendly behaviour (Onwezen, 2013). According to Schwartz (1977), this theory
suggest that pro-Social behaviour is impacted by the following factors , awareness of
consequences, acknowledgement of responsibility, and personal norm .This theory
suggest that , norm activation begins with an individual's being aware of the
possible dangerous repercussion for not acting environmentally friendly Park
2014) .Van ( 2015) state that individual awareness activates a personal norm that
influence an individual whether he/she should perform a certain action that impede a
harmful outcome . Awareness may create acknowledgement of responsibility this
refers to “A sense of responsibility for the negative repercussion of not acting
environmentally friendly” Schwartz (1977)

This study will be grounded by the Theory of planned behaviour
Theory of planned behaviour suggests that attitude impacts the behavioural
intention, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control (Ajzen, 1985, 1991).
This theory proposes that behavioural intention are determined by attitude toward
behaviour, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control.
According to Fink (2015) attitude is determined by belief regarding behaviour.
Furthermore when ones attitude is positive towards behaviour, it increases the
chances to perform the behaviour that is being monitored (Fink et al., 2015)
Technology acceptance model and solar panels /solar heaters

TAM explains how “perceived usefulness” and “perceived ease of use “affect usage
intention of new technology.
Perceived Usefulness
Perceived Usefulness defined as the extent that an individual believes that by using
a certain system would better their task (Davis , 1989) perceived usefulness is the
perceived benefits of installing solar panels /solar heaters . According to Kari (2016)
favourable or unfavourable attitude may impact household owner’s decision to adapt
to solar panels /solar heaters. Stern (2016) state that attitude determines perceived
usefulness. According to Aman (2015) there are instant and noticeable benefits that
household owners would enjoy by installing solar panels /solar heaters. For example,
household owners would enjoy the benefit of generating their own electricity and not
rely on Eskom for electricity.
Extended financial advantage includes that household owners can save money on
electricity monthly bills also eliminate the risk of increasing cost of electricity
(Hossain, 2015). According to Easter (2014) provides solar panels /solar heaters
does not produce carbon emissions therefore it has minimal impact on the
environment faster. Also solar panels /solar heaters do not need electricity therefore
it can be installed in ever where even in areas where there is no electricity supply.
Crago ( 2015) state that a solar panels /solar heaters uses renewable energy that is
natural and free reducing the worry regarding future electricity.
Solar panels /solar heaters allows home owners to lower air pollution and save the
earth (Schelly, 2014) In other words, household owners will be able act
environmentally friendly by installing solar panels /solar heaters . According to
Borenstein (2017) engaging in green behaviour is useful in the sense that it
minimises damage to the environment. According to Numbi (2017) a large number of
South Africans boil water using electricity supplied by energy supplies, this may be
very expensive form of boiling water. Solar panels /solar heaters are beneficial and
useful because they use free energy to boil water at a lower lost (Numbi et al, 2017).
According to Siegrist (2014) solar panels /solar heaters effectiveness may be
determined through the satisfaction of household owners.

5.4.2 Perceived Ease of Use
Perceived ease of use is defined as the extent to which using a certain system would
not require effort (Davis et al, 1989) .Regarding solar panels /solar heaters
Perceived ease may be explained as the extended to which household owners
perceive solar panels /solar heaters to be easy to use when. According to Kardooni
(2016) perceived ease of use affects perceived usefulness in a sense that when
household owners perceive solar panels /solar heaters to be easy then they may
perceive them as useful.
Rashid (2014) state that when solar panels /solar heaters are well integrated with
household owners life styles it increases the perceived “ ease of use”, and
perceived “usefulness” For example solar panels /solar heaters may require self-
maintenance therefore a manual provided must be easy to read and understand on
how to check for leaks or wiring and plumbing .
According to Monalina (2016) perceived ease of use of solar panels /solar heaters
can also be influenced by system quality. Yazdanpanah (2015 state that System
quality of solar panels /solar heaters may influence perceived ease of usage which
can lead to a favourable or unfavourable perception about system functionalities.
According to Keizer (2016) system quality refers to performance quality of a
system such as reliability and ease of use of a system , for example solar panels
/solar heaters are well designed solar system that has a storage system that enable
the household owner to do self-maintenance such as checking storage tanks for
problems such as leaks and cracks .
The storage system may increase perceived “ease of use “of solar panels /solar
heaters as the storage system allows household owner to easily perform tasks of
using and maintaining solar panels /solar heaters (Ayodele, 2015). Therefore we can
argue that there is a positive relationship between system quality of solar panels
/solar heaters and perceived ease of use.
Other Factors that affect the acceptance of microgeneration technologies
Attitude

Isla (2014) explains attitude towards solar panels /solar heaters as household
owners’s reaction towards heaters /solar panels . According to Rahman (2016)
attitude is the positive or negative judgment of the behaviour in examination. Hast
(2015) further argues that when a household owner’s attitude towards solar
heaters /solar panels is positive, the higher the chances likely they are to adopt using
solar heaters /solar panels. Attitude impact behavioural intention (Hast et al , 2015)
According to Baharoon (2016) attitude is connected to the behavioural intention of
an household owners because an household owner’s intention to perform a
behaviour is dependent on the household owners attitude towards that certain
behaviour.
According to Dietz (2017) that attitude is a predictor of behavioural intention solar
heaters /solar panels and that attitude impact intention to use solar heaters /solar
panels. Aldhmour (2016) state that attitude determines human behaviour. According
to chen (2016) household owners who is environmentally friendly believes that
installing solar panels /solar heaters will save the environment , their attitude towards
solar heaters /solar panels is likely to be positive . Therefore, if there is a positive
attitude towards being eviromentally friendly then intention to use solar heaters /solar
panels will be high. Kempe (2015)argue that if an household owners has a
favourable attitude towards solar heaters /solar panels ,they are most likely to
install them ,also if an household owners has an unfavourable attitude towards solar
heaters /solar panels they are unlikely to install them, therefore it can be argued
that Attitude impact on solar heaters /solar panels adoption .
Willingness to pay
According to Fadhl (2016) household owners who have a positive attitude towards
protecting the environment and believe that installing solar panels /solar heaters

would allow them to participate in saving the environment from air pollution .Jin
(2014) state that attitude towards the environment is defined as a set of beliefs that
may influence pro environmental actions , in this case If household owners believe
that installing a solar panels /solar heaters will allow them to engage in friendly
environmental practices are most likely to be willing to pay for solar panels /solar
heaters . According to Siegrist (2017) if household owner is not concerned about
environmental issues and they do not see or understand how solar panels /solar
heaters can reduce air pollution they are likely to not be willing to pay for solar
panels /solar heaters.
According to Pravantis (2014) household owners who have positive attitude
towards the environment are those that feel concerned about environmental
problems facing the earth Therefore attitude affect willingness to pay for solar panels
/solar heaters .Liu (2014) state that household who have a positive attitude towards
saving the environment may view solar panels /solar heaters as the opportunity save
the environment .When household understand their role in saving the environment
their attitude toward solar panels /solar heaters may be positive (Chan, 2016).
Behavioural intention
Behavioural intention is defined as the probability that an individual will participate in
certain behaviour (Stern et al, 2017). Perceived usefulness is defined as the extent
that an individual trust that using a certain system will better their task (Davis at el,
1989). Usefulness of solar panels /solar heaters can be viewed as the ability of
solar panels /solar heaters to help stop air pollution as solar panels /solar heaters do
not produce gas .Fadhl (2016) state that perceived usefulness was identified to be
an important factor that affect users behavioural intention. Behavioural intention to
use solar is determined by perceived usefulness of the system Rizzo (2017).
Komendantova (2015) state that that perceived usefulness is a factor that
determines household owner’s behavioural intention towards solar panels /solar
heaters . According to Frey (2016) if solar panels /solar heaters are believed to be
useful by household owners they are most likely to adopt to use them , however if
household owners do not see the usefulness of solar panels /solar heaters their

behavioural intention to adopt may be negative. There is a positive effect
relationship between perceived usefulness and behavioural intention (Frey et al,
2016). It can therefore be argued that perceived usefulness affect behavioural
intention to use solar panels /solar heaters.
Environmental friendly activity
According to …Ramos (2016) environmentally friendly activity is defined as
households’ owners who take part in environmentally friendly activities, According to
Klockner (2015) environmental friendly activity is defined as ones commit and efforts
to perform activities that improves the environment. According to Labandeira (2016)
environmentally friendly active household owners are those household owners that
take steps to protect the environment in various ways such as recycling paper plastic
bottles, ensuring that package is made of recycled material buying green
products .Lillemo (2014) state that when a household owner is environmentally
friendly this may impact decision to adopt to solar heaters /solar panels because
they are environmentally friendly. Feng (2016) argued that household owner may
have a positive attitude towards solar panels /solar heaters when they are involved in
environmental friendly activities.
According to Shibata (2015) solar power are clean energy directly from the sun it
does not produce hazards carbon emissions .Han (2015) argues that For a
household owner who is involved in environmental friendly activities, they may be
attracted to installing solar panels /solar heaters because solar panels /solar heaters
assist in fighting greenhouse gas emission and lower dependence on fossil fuel.
Yoon (2015) state that household owners who are concerned about environmental
issues and are involved in environmental friendly activities always look for ways to
protect the environment therefore, may feel the responsibility to install solar panels
/solar heaters thus may lead to adoption of solar heaters /solar panels. Therefore

Environmental friendly activity may impact attitude towards solar panels /solar
heaters.
Social risk
According to Medeiros (2017) Social risk may be described as the possibility that
one might lose status among his or her social group as an outcome of using a
certain product or service. This refers to the chances that household owners may
face criticism from friends/family as an outcome of installing solar heaters /solar
panels. According to Rai (2016) social risk can impact behavioural intention of
household owners to adopt or not to adapt to solar panels /solar heaters. Reevess
(2016) argued that Social risk is maybe described the chances that one’s social
status may be upgraded or degraded depending on how solar heaters /solar panels
are viewed.
Thiene (2017) state that if family and friends recommend solar heaters /solar
panels , Thus will in turn impact their intention to install solar heaters /solar
panels , also if family and friends don’t recommend solar heaters /solar panels ,
this could have negative social risk where household owner may not adopt due
social risk . According to Rose (2017) household owners may be viewed as not
being environmentally friendly for not installing solar heaters /solar panels or they
may be b viewed as penniless, this degrading their social status .
Social risk may cause behavioural intention to be negative when deciding whether e
to or whether not to install solar heaters /solar panels household owners may worry
about looking foolish or untrendy this compromising their reputation and status (Rose
et al 2017). According to Urpelainen (2016) when people has negative perception
regarding solar heaters /solar panels this may impact household owners decision to
install solar heaters /solar panels .Kandpal (2016) supported this statement by
stating that opinions of others people may impact decision to install , solar
heaters /solar panels as household owners may question themselves if they will
obtain approval or disapproval of others by installing solar heaters /solar
panels .According to Yaqoot (2016) household owners may worry about what will
others think if they don’t or do install solar heaters /solar panels. Social risk may be
obstacles to adoption of solar heaters /solar panels karakaya (2015). It can

therefore be argued that Social risk impact behavioural intention to adapt to
heaters /solar panels adoption.
Performance risk
According to Nema (2016) solar heaters /solar panels may save electricity cost in
the long run, however they are expensive to install the first time .Solangi (2016) state
that it may difficult for household owners to assess the performance of solar
heaters /solar panels before they are installed in their homes in a sense that they will
only experience the performance ones they have installed the solar heaters /solar
panels leaving room for uncertainty regarding performance.
According to Wolske (2017) performance risk may impact behavioural intention to
adopt to solar heaters /solar panels in a sense that if household owners are not
confident about the performance of solar heaters /solar panels they behavioural
intention to adopt may be negative, again if household owners have high confidence
in the performance of solar heaters /solar panels the behavioural intention to adopt
may be positive. Yun (2015) defines Performance risk as losses experienced by
malfunctions of solar heaters /solar panels. For example household owners may
worry that a breakdown of solar heaters /solar panels will take place resulting in
unforeseen losses (Yun et al., 2015).
According to Schmidt (2016) household owners may be concerned that solar
heaters /solar panels may fail to deliver the anticipated benefits. For example,
when solar heaters /solar panels are installed poorly they may cause water leaks
inside the house. According to Zare (2018) With solar heaters /solar panels ,
performance risk happens when (a) climate change causing lack of sunlight time, or
(b) Generating less power than anticipated (c) snow covering solar panels for a long
period leading to no power generated . Performance risk positively impact decision
to install solar panels /solar heaters.

Social Norm
According to Hoppe (2018) social norm of household owners, regarding solar
panels /solar heaters, has a significant influence on their behavioural intention to use
solar heaters. Social norm is constructed by household owner’s beliefs about what
is expected of them Bressesrs, 2018). Therefore if an household owners is
encouraged by family and friends to install solar panels/solar heaters than they are
most likely to install them because they seek approval of their family and friends also
they want to meet their expectation (Hoppe et al, 2018).
Anders (2018) argue that social norm can impact behaviour intention .According to
Parkins (2018) Social norm put pressure on an household owners to behave in a
particular way , for example if people in a community install solar panels /solar
heaters one would feel compelled to install one because it reflect appropriate
behaviour .Girod (2017) argue that people may be reluctant to install solar
panels/solar heater if their reference group did not install solar panels /solar heaters
to avoid disapproval or being rebuked. Matthies (2018) state that household owners
may be motivated to install solar panels /solar heaters if they believe that
others will approve of their behaviour .Therefore Social norm can impact behavioural
intention towards solar panels /solar heaters.
Usage of solar panels /solar heaters
According to Arsalan (2016) solar panels /solar heaters are used to produce power
using sunshine so that household does not rely on energy suppliers for electricity.
Balzani (2016) solar panels /solar heaters extract sunshine then the panel transform
the sunlight into electricity that can used for different purposes. Palit (2015) State
that due to power cuts problem solar panels /solar heaters is slowly gaining
popularity and has been used worldwide. Solar panels /solar heaters are used to
produce electricity for lights, boiling water, heating the pool etc (Wan, 2015)

Proposed model for Solar panels /solar heaters adoption based on the Technology
acceptance mode.
.
H10 H6
H2 H4
H1
H3
H8
H 8
H5
H7 H9 H12
H11 H10
Subjective
norm Social norm
Attitude
Behavioural int
Environmental
friendly activity
Willingness to
pay
Perceived ease of
use
Perceived
usefulness

Proposed hypotheses for this study:
H1 Perceived ease of use affects “perceived usefulness” solar panels /solar heaters
H2 There is a significant positive relationship between perceived usefulness and
attitude towards solar panels /solar heaters
H3 There is a significant positive relationship between perceived ease of use and
attitude towards e-banking.
H4 There is a significant positive relationship between household owner attitude and
intention to use solar panels /solar heaters
H5 There is a significant positive relationship attitude and willingness to pay for solar
panels /solar heaters
H6 Perceived usefulness has a positive impact on behavioural intention to use solar
H7 Attitude towards environmental friendly activity affects adoption solar panels
/solar heaters
H8 Social risk positively affects behavioural intention to use solar panels /solar
heaters
H9 There is a significant positive relationship between subjective knowledge and
behavioural intention to adapt to solar panels /solar heaters
H10 Performance risk positively affects behavioural intention to use solar panels
/solar heaters
H 11 There is a positive relationship between Social norm and intention to use solar
panels /solar heaters
H12 There is a significant positive relationship between subjective norms and
behavioural intention to use solar panels /solar heaters