PARIS, Sept 2 — Are you a homeowner thinking of installing solar panels on your roof? If you take the plunge, you may (consciously or unconsciously) be encouraging your neighbours or relatives to do the same.
At least according to a new Swiss study that highlights the “spatial proximity” effect as a motivating factor for investing in this renewable energy.
Installing photovoltaic panels on the roof of your home to reduce your energy bills and even generate some of your own electricity is an increasingly mainstream solution in many areas of Europe.
According to estimates by electricity distribution company Enedis, over 320,000 French homes, for instance, are now equipped with solar panels.
And that figure comes as no surprise given the energy crisis that hit Europe at the end of 2021, causing electricity and gas prices to soar.
But inflation isn’t the only factor driving people to invest in renewable energy solutions for their homes, points out a recent Swiss survey conducted by the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
In addition to it being a question of ecological convictions, or inflation, spatial proximity also plays a key role.
In other words, if your neighbour or someone you see frequently has invested in this renewable energy, it may give you ideas, and you may even make the decision to invest in solar panels yourself!
Published this summer in the journal Heliyon, the study was carried out in Switzerland among 1,125 people living in Nyon and Jura-Nord Vaudois, two districts in the canton of Vaud.
The researchers who led the study stated it plainly: the “direct neighbourhood effect” has a major impact in the transmission of information between peers and significantly increases the likelihood that someone will install solar panels on the roof of their home.
“These insights indicate that professional experts and neighbours are important points of reference in the decision to invest in PV, and that regional networks are key for the active spreading of information on renewable technologies,” stress the authors of the work.
According to the study, however, this is not the only factor that motivates people to experiment.
The fact of speaking the same language or living in an urban area also influences the way in which information on this mode of energy consumption is passed on between households and individuals.
“The majority of information exchange takes place within the linguistic and cultural boundaries of the canton,” notes the study.
While these latter aspects are rather specific to Switzerland, they would nevertheless be worth studying in other cities and countries, in order to gain a better understanding of the factors motivating homeowners to invest in renewable technology such as photovoltaic panels. — ETX Studio
