Solar Parties
Project team:
Prof. Dr. Oliver Neumann, Dr. Gilles Chatelain, Pascale-Catherine Kirklies – University of Lausanne (UNIL)
Prof. Claudia R. Binder, Dr. Maria Anna Hecher, Dr. Mert Duygan – EPFL
Funding: Center for Climate Impact and Action (CLIMACT)
Duration: 2023-2024
The use of photovoltaic (PV) systems on residential buildings is a key element in the societal transition to renewable energies. However, despite economic and ecological benefits, many homeowners struggle to adopt PV due to technical complexity, administrative burden, and cognitive biases such as inertia. In light of previous studies suggesting that peer interactions may substantially help the diffusion of PV, and drawing on social contagion theory, the UNIL-EPFL project takes a qualitative action research approach to study such peer effects in solar parties. Solar parties are community-oriented information events hosted by local volunteers who have already adopted PV, usually supported by governments, targeting neighbors who have not yet adopted PV.
The objectives of this project are to:
- better understand the micro-level mechanisms underlying peer effects in PV diffusion
- formulate actionable recommendations and best practices on organizing solar parties for governments, and
- measure actual behavioral adoption indicators (e. g. contacting installation companies) after participation in a solar party.
The project is a collaboration between the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), and is funded by CLIMACT, the Center for Climate Impact and Action. CLIMACT’s main objective is to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions through a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach.