Danish Solar Consumer Study (IQP)

The goal of my IQP project was to create a comprehensive report on Danish consumers’ opportunities, perceptions, motivations, and experiences with installing photovoltaic solar panels or a small wind turbine on their homes. Our report was commissioned by the Danish Consumer Council, such that they could more effectively represent consumers’ interests in policy making efforts and advise consumers. 

The project objective was to answer the following research questions: 

• How is information concerning the purchase and installation of solar panels and small wind turbines presented to consumers in Denmark? 
• What motivates or discourages Danish consumers from installing solar panels or a small wind turbine? 
• For those who have already installed solar panels or a small wind turbine, how did they learn about, select, and install the equipment? 
• What regulations and incentive programs currently influence the market for solar panels and small wind turbines in Denmark? 

From my teams research, we learned about existing incentive programs that promote the use of solar panels or small wind turbines in the home, the factors that most commonly motivate and discourage consumers from installing them, and some of the technical implications of these systems for consumers and energy distributors alike. We leveraged this information to devise a list of stakeholders in Denmark to consult for additional information. Upon our arrival in Denmark, we gathered information through interviews of installers, energy companies, and other non-government organizations and surveys of danish consumers.

We then condensed our consumer data into a set of lessons learned; these were organized by each step a consumer might follow when purchasing and installing solar panels or a small wind turbine: 

• How they learn about these opportunities
• What they know and do not know about them, their motivations and deterrents, and, for those who actually purchased the equipment, how they chose, installed, maintained, and assessed the performance of their installation. 

Our discussions with installers, energy companies, and other non-government organizations in the area also yielded important information, especially about the government incentive programs in Denmark for people who contribute electricity to the grid. We conclude: 

• Consumers are very interested in solar, but upfront costs and lack of knowledge are big deterrents. Other countries have provided ways to address this, such as low-interest loans, but these are not available in Denmark. 
• When searching for detailed information, consumers tended to reference information provided by equipment retailers and installers. These sources are biased, and this is reflected in consumer interactions with them. 
• We initially expected that energy producers and distributors would be more enthusiastic about and promote renewable energy generation, but they are still investigating the impact of many small energy sources on grid infrastructure. Instead, individual consumers and equipment retailers, who are very interested in the profitability of the venture, lead promotion efforts alongside environmentally-minded non-government organizations. 
• Consumers are less knowledgeable about and less interested in wind turbines. The larger upfront cost required and strict and lengthy site approval process are significant deterrents, unless one consumes enough electricity or has enough space to scale up.