A survey of 1,797 residents was used to find out willingness to pay for low-carbon residential heating within the Netherlands. On common, respondents are prepared to pay a premium of 33% for electricity-based heating. Policy suggestions are additionally supplied as a part of the examine.
Researchers from the University of Groningen within the Netherlands carried out a ballot of 1,797 Dutch residents about their willingness to pay (WTP) for low-carbon residential heating programs. The outcomes shall be legitimate not solely within the Netherlands but additionally for different international locations within the European Union and the United Kingdom because of the similarity of the markets, say the scientists.
“Many research to search out options for residential warmth typically undertake a top-down perspective, the place the primary purpose is to scale back the full price of the system, client prices or environmental influence of heating programs,” the teachers stated. “However, a drawback of those top-down approaches is their restricted consideration to client preferences for various kinds of heating. For power transition insurance policies to be efficient, customers should that discover modifications of their warmth provision acceptable and needs to be prepared to undertake low-carbon heating programs.
The experiment
For their evaluation, the workforce carried out a discrete-choice experiment, analyzing the outcomes utilizing a latent-class logit (LCL) mannequin. A discrete-choice experiment research preferences by way of alternative choices, whereas LCL identifies totally different desire teams. The members had been requested to reply questions on six traits: the kind of heating system, power supply, CO2 emissions per kWh, alternative of power provider, set up prices, and month-to-month power payments. . For every query, two an identical programs are offered, altering solely the related habits.
“In our chosen experiment, we requested the members to think about a scenario the place their present heating system stopped working and wanted to get replaced. Afterwards, the respondents had been requested to consider which choice for a bag heating system is probably the most most well-liked for the set up of their properties, “explains the group. “Respondents have to decide on between the offered heating programs in every alternative set; they don’t have any option to maintain their present heating system or to keep away from making the total alternative.
Regarding the kind of heating system, responders can select between family home equipment or district heating programs. The power supply is fuel, electrical energy, or hydrogen, each of that are produced from renewable or non-renewable sources. CO2 emissions per kWh, together with emissions from power manufacturing, will be 0 g, 200 g, or 400 g. As for the retailer, responders can select between markets the place it’s doable to change firms or not. The two final attributes helped the scientists to calculate the WTP: for the preliminary set up price, they’d to decide on between the costs of €2,000 ($2,218), €5,000 and €7,500; whereas on the month-to-month power invoice, they’ll resolve between 50%, 100%, or 150%, of the present cost.
The outcomes
“Our outcomes present that, on common, Dutch households are prepared to pay a premium on their present month-to-month power payments of 33% for electrical energy and 29.4% for hydrogen, relative to the usage of fuel for warmth manufacturing,” stated the researchers. “They are prepared to pay a premium of 15.3% for lowering the quantity of CO2 emissions per kWh of warmth with 100 grams; and 16% for having the choice to change between power retailers. In distinction, they require a reduction of 28.4% for district heating programs in relation to standalone family home equipment.
The socio-economic traits of the respondents are identified by the institute that manages the unfold of the ballot, and due to this fact, the evaluation of the category profile is feasible. According to its outcomes, people with increased training and earnings ranges within the northern Netherlands have the very best WTP for low-carbon electrical energy and hydrogen. In addition, based on this evaluation, owners with increased earnings brackets usually tend to request cost for a district heating system, whereas much less educated ones renters within the low-income brackets of small household properties worth district heating probably the most.
“Relatively youthful people in massive household households are typically extra delicate to cost, displaying a decrease WTP for all traits of the heating system,” added the teachers. “Our evaluation additionally reveals that older people in rural areas are most delicate to preliminary capital expenditures, as indicated by their comparatively excessive implied low cost charges, and are much less prone to have constructive WTP for behaviors aside from these they’re already acquainted with, suggesting that established order or familiarity results are stronger on this group.
The coverage implications
At the top of the article, scientists additionally present suggestions for coverage makers. Among them, to compensate people for altering a district heating community, offering electrical energy and hydrogen as an alternative of fuel, and permitting shoppers to change between suppliers. They additionally recommend particularly concentrating on the aged with funds for renewable warmth. “Ultimately, a extra consumer-oriented strategy might result in a extra sustainable and broadly accepted transition to low-carbon residential heating,” they harassed.
The outcomes are offered in “Willingness-to-pay for a low-carbon residential heating system: A discrete alternative experiment in Dutch households,” revealed in Energy and Buildings.
This content material is protected by copyright and is probably not reused. If you need to cooperate with us and need to reuse a few of our content material, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Popular content material
