Challenges to consumers practices toward renewable energy in household from a socio-technical perspective

• Main Author: Mohd Fadzil, Nur Hafizah
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English; English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: HD9502-9502.5 Energy industries. Energy policy. Fuel trade
• Online Access: http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/849/1/24p%20NUR%20HAFIZAH%20MOHD%20FADZIL.pdf; http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/849/2/NUR%20HAFIZAH%20MOHD%20FADZIL%20COPYRIGHT%20DECLARATION.pdf; http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/849/3/NUR%20HAFIZAH%20MOHD%20FADZIL%20WATERMARK.pdf; http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/849/

Energy has always been a major source of human beings and has depended on it for survival and productive activities. Conventional energy sources (eg: fossil fuel) will cause pollution, and their use will degrade the environment but renewable energy is environmentally friendly. However, social acceptance of renewable energy has been challenging because of cheaper alternative energy. The objective of this research is to identify the perception among Malaysian households towards renewable energy and to investigate social and technical challenges that influence consumer intention to use renewable energy in households. This study used the questionnaire method to collect quantitative data. The respondents were Malaysian households. Questionnaires collected were 375 (63%), but only 367 (61%) questionnaire sets were considered valid for further analysis. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings provide a deeper understanding of the consumer intention to use renewable energy in households by combining socio-technical perspectives (Facilitating Technical Conditions, Perceived System Quality, Social Trust and Social Support) with the TPB model (Attitude, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioral Control and Intention). The extended TPB model was tested using PLS-SEM. The findings revealed that attitude is the best predictor of intention to use renewable energy in the household. Subjective norm also has a significant predictive ability. However, perceived behavioural control is not a significant variable in predicting the intention to use renewable energy in the household. Meanwhile, technical conditions and social support are the challenges factors which can influence consumer intention to use renewable energy in households. In conclusion, Malaysian people are not ready yet to become renewable energy systems practitioners due to negative perceived behavioural control and subjective norm towards intention to use renewable energy in the household.