IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v4y2012i6p1089-1103d17989.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Wood-Pellet Heating in Norway: Early Adopters’ Satisfaction and Problems That Have Been Experienced

Author

Listed:
  • Geir Skjevrak

    (Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway)

  • Bertha Maya Sopha

    (Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
    Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

Abstract

Given the vital role of early adopters during the early stage of wood-pellet heating development, this study aims to explore the factors that explain the overall satisfaction among the early adopters of this type of heating as well as the problems experienced with wood-pellet heating in Norway. Ordinal regression was used to analyze empirical data which was collected from a mail survey in autumn 2008. The response rate of 45% was composed of 669 early adopters of wood-pellet heating. Findings show that both economic factor ( i.e. , cost) and technical factors ( i.e. , pellet stove performance) have played a significant role in early adopters’ overall satisfaction with wood-pellet heating. The most common problems experienced are igniter failure in the pellet stove, lack of committed and competent suppliers/vendors, more time and effort than expected during maintenance, and fines from pellets both during handling and combustion.

Suggested Citation

  • Geir Skjevrak & Bertha Maya Sopha, 2012. "Wood-Pellet Heating in Norway: Early Adopters’ Satisfaction and Problems That Have Been Experienced," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(6), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:4:y:2012:i:6:p:1089-1103:d:17989
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/4/6/1089/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/4/6/1089/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sopha, Bertha Maya & Klöckner, Christian A. & Skjevrak, Geir & Hertwich, Edgar G., 2010. "Norwegian households' perception of wood pellet stove compared to air-to-air heat pump and electric heating," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 3744-3754, July.
    2. Nyrud, Anders Q. & Roos, Anders & Sande, Jon Bingen, 2008. "Residential bioenergy heating: A study of consumer perceptions of improved woodstoves," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 3159-3166, August.
    3. Christiansen, Atle Christer, 2002. "New renewable energy developments and the climate change issue: a case study of Norwegian politics," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 235-243, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Michelsen, Carl Christian & Madlener, Reinhard, 2015. "Beyond Technology Adoption: Homeowner Satisfaction with Newly Adopted Residential Heating Systems," FCN Working Papers 1/2015, E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN).
    2. Xingmin Liu & Beibei Qin & Yong Wu & Ran Zou & Qing Ye, 2021. "Study on Rural Residents’ Satisfaction with the Clean Energy Heating Program in Northern China—A Case Study of Shandong Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Thomson, Harriet & Liddell, Christine, 2015. "The suitability of wood pellet heating for domestic households: A review of literature," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1362-1369.
    4. Gong, Yuanchao & Cai, Bo-feng & Sun, Yan, 2020. "Perceived fiscal subsidy predicts rural residential acceptance of clean heating: Evidence from an indoor-survey in a pilot city in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    5. Alisa Freyre & Stefano Cozza & Matthias Rüetschi & Meinrad Bürer & Marlyne Sahakian & Martin K. Patel, 2021. "How to Improve Effectiveness of Renewable Space Heating Programs by Better Understanding Homeowner—Installer Interactions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-24, July.
    6. Karytsas, Spyridon & Theodoropoulou, Helen, 2014. "Public awareness and willingness to adopt ground source heat pumps for domestic heating and cooling," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 49-57.
    7. García-Maroto, I. & García-Maraver, A. & Muñoz-Leiva, F. & Zamorano, M., 2015. "Consumer knowledge, information sources used and predisposition towards the adoption of wood pellets in domestic heating systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 207-215.
    8. Casey Olechnowicz & Jessica Leahy & Tian Guo & Emily Silver Huff & Cecilia Danks & Maura Adams, 2021. "Industry Leaders’ Perceptions of Residential Wood Pellet Technology Diffusion in the Northeastern U.S," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jingchao, Zhang & Kotani, Koji & Saijo, Tatsuyoshi, 2018. "Public acceptance of environmentally friendly heating in Beijing: A case of a low temperature air source heat pump," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 75-85.
    2. Decker, Thomas & Menrad, Klaus, 2015. "House owners' perceptions and factors influencing their choice of specific heating systems in Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 150-161.
    3. Diana A. Londoño-Pulgarín & Francisco Muñoz-Leiva & Esmeralda Crespo-Almendros, 2020. "Conversion of Residential Heating Systems from Fossil Fuels to Biofuels: A Cross-Cultural Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-24, September.
    4. Sopha, Bertha Maya & Klöckner, Christian A., 2011. "Psychological factors in the diffusion of sustainable technology: A study of Norwegian households' adoption of wood pellet heating," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 2756-2765, August.
    5. Karytsas, Spyridon & Theodoropoulou, Helen, 2014. "Public awareness and willingness to adopt ground source heat pumps for domestic heating and cooling," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 49-57.
    6. Arabatzis, Garyfallos & Kitikidou, Kyriaki & Tampakis, Stilianos & Soutsas, Konstantinos, 2012. "The fuelwood consumption in a rural area of Greece," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(9), pages 6489-6496.
    7. Hecher, Maria & Hatzl, Stefanie & Knoeri, Christof & Posch, Alfred, 2017. "The trigger matters: The decision-making process for heating systems in the residential building sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 288-306.
    8. Michelsen, Carl Christian & Madlener, Reinhard, 2015. "Beyond Technology Adoption: Homeowner Satisfaction with Newly Adopted Residential Heating Systems," FCN Working Papers 1/2015, E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN).
    9. Bjørnstad, Even, 2012. "Diffusion of renewable heating technologies in households. Experiences from the Norwegian Household Subsidy Programme," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 148-158.
    10. Michelsen, Carl Christian & Madlener, Reinhard, 2016. "Switching from fossil fuel to renewables in residential heating systems: An empirical study of homeowners' decisions in Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 95-105.
    11. Toka, Agorasti & Iakovou, Eleftherios & Vlachos, Dimitrios & Tsolakis, Naoum & Grigoriadou, Anastasia-Loukia, 2014. "Managing the diffusion of biomass in the residential energy sector: An illustrative real-world case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 56-69.
    12. Tromborg, Erik & Bolkesjo, Torjus Folsland & Solberg, Birger, 2007. "Impacts of policy means for increased use of forest-based bioenergy in Norway--A spatial partial equilibrium analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 5980-5990, December.
    13. Victor Fernández-Guzmán & Edgardo R. Bravo, 2018. "Understanding Continuance Usage of Natural Gas: A Theoretical Model and Empirical Evaluation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, August.
    14. Meles, Tensay Hadush & Ryan, Lisa & Mukherjee, Sanghamitra C., 2022. "Heterogeneity in preferences for renewable home heating systems among Irish households," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    15. Christian A. Oberst & Reinhard Madlener, 2015. "Prosumer Preferences Regarding the Adoption of Micro†Generation Technologies: Empirical Evidence for German Homeowners," Working Papers 2015.07, International Network for Economic Research - INFER.
    16. Houda Elmustapha & Thomas Hoppe & Hans Bressers, 2018. "Understanding Stakeholders’ Views and the Influence of the Socio-Cultural Dimension on the Adoption of Solar Energy Technology in Lebanon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, January.
    17. Ruokamo, Enni, 2016. "Household preferences of hybrid home heating systems – A choice experiment application," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 224-237.
    18. Qingchang Li & Seungkook Roh & Jin Won Lee, 2020. "Segmenting the South Korean Public According to Their Preferred Direction for Electricity Mix Reform," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-17, October.
    19. Zhang, Yanquan & Chang, Ruidong & Zuo, Jian & Shabunko, Veronika & Zheng, Xian, 2023. "Regional disparity of residential solar panel diffusion in Australia: The roles of socio-economic factors," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 808-819.
    20. Claudy, Marius C. & Michelsen, Claus & O'Driscoll, Aidan, 2011. "The diffusion of microgeneration technologies - assessing the influence of perceived product characteristics on home owners' willingness to pay," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1459-1469, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:4:y:2012:i:6:p:1089-1103:d:17989. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.