Appliance-based solar certificates: A new way of going green

In recent years, an increasing amount of solar energy has been produced around the globe, but too few consumers actually buy it. Three studies now show how this purchase can be promoted with an approach similar to the carbon offset program in aviation. After a fictitious purchase of differently priced appliances (e.g. electric toothbrush or TV set) in an online store, participants could buy a solar certificate for this appliance, whereby its price depended on the appliance's energy consumption as well as the selected term (e.g. 1 or 3 years) of the certificate. By purchasing such a certificate, the amount of solar energy consumed by this appliance for the selected term would be fed into the Swiss electricity grid. Study 1 showed that participants were willing to buy such a certificate, especially certificates with longer terms. That willingness, however, depended on the solar certificate price/appliance price ratio. While Study 2 showed that this purchase is influenced by promotions (e.g., a specific reduction in price), Study 3 showed that this purchase did not lead to a less environmentally friendly behavior afterwards. Appliance-based solar certificates easily available at the point of sale can encourage consumers to buy more solar energy.

Automated summary

The studies have shown that the purchase of appliance-based solar certificates can promote the consumption of solar energy, with a higher willingness to buy certificates with longer terms. Purchase behavior is influenced by promotions and the ratio of certificate price to appliance price, but buying certificates does not lead to less environmentally friendly behaviors in the future.