I am writing a case study (thesis) dealing with a land sub-division
where the company I worked for offered PV (photovoltaic) cells and
solar hot-water systems to people who purchased blocks of land.  The
land purchaser then built their home and the company I worked for
organised the installation of the solar equipment.

I am having great difficulty locating case studies written in academic
format dealing with introducing solar power into the residential
market.

I can find many examples of  items listed as "case studies" but none
written up in an 'academic' format. The case studies or thesis I
require may well just deal with introducing innovation into the
household or What drives the uptake of innovation within a household.
The second option is far less specific and of lesser value.

I intend to question via survey those who purchased the blocks of land
on my subdivison to try and find out whether or not the 'solar'
products formed a significant part of their buying decision (my
hypothesis is that it did).
 
I am keen to access academic pieces in this area with the ability to
print read and review.

Regards

TonyH

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 09 Jun 2004 20:16 PDT

Is this the sort of thing you had in mind...?

http://www.ece.umr.edu/links/power/Energy_Course/energy/Renewables/Portfolio/smudases.html

A CASE STUDY OF UTILITY PV ECONOMICS

[In particular, the study includes findings on "Economics and rate
impacts of net metering residential PV systems".

==========

If this sort of thing meets your needs, I can probably rustle up
another 5-10 studies of the same genre.

Let me know what you think.

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by tonyhew-ga on 10 Jun 2004 00:09 PDT

pafalafa-ga. Thanks for your assistance to date. While several of your
references are consistent wiht what I require, I was hoping to gain
access to university thesises or university accredited case studies.
It may well be that case studies or thesis works exist which deal with
introducing or the take-up of new technology obviously my preference
being for solar power. As noted most 'case studies' are no-more than
minor articles offering unsubstantiatd opinions. Similarly, most
articles relating to the uptake of technology relate to the growth of
I.T ie computers.

Im keen to establish (if possible) the motives for people adopting
solar power in a residential setting.

Note I have posted another question on google which deals with
customer views to purchasing blocks of land with a body corporate
over-riding teh purchase. As indicated in my earlier question my
intention is to show that the solar equipment or the positive of its
provision overcame a number of 'negatives' associated with land sold
on this sub-division. You may also wish to consider this research
question as well.

Regards

TonyH

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 28 Jun 2004 06:59 PDT

Since the papers cited already don't seem to meet your needs, I
searched an online database for accessing PhD and Master's theses. 
The closest I came to your topic is:

Transforming power in rural communities: Possibilities for an energy literacy 
UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH 

This thesis investigates how the experiences of rural renewable energy
users, woven into the perspectives of transformative education,
contribute to an alternative knowledge of energy and give direction
for citizens to be active participants in working toward sustainable
communities....Using elements of case study, narrative inquiry and
participant observation research methods this study allows for
learning from the experiences of solar energy users and wood energy
users in the context of rural community. The findings shape an
understanding of the contribution of renewable energy to sustainable
rural community, the relevance of gender to sustainable energy, and
how the experiences of renewable energy users can be used in the
development of an energy literacy...

==========

The full 311-pages thesis is available online, for a fee.  You can
preview a 24-page summary of the thesis at no charge.

Should I post information about accessing the thesis database as an
answer to your question?

pafalafa-ga

Relevant:

Energy Costs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of various types of Water Heaters
http://www1.sedo.energy.wa.gov.au/pages/emissions.asp

Alternative Technology Association
Australian. Home energy products.
http://www.ata.org.au/

A Discussion on Life-Cycle Costs of Residential Photovoltaic Systems
http://www.sandia.gov/pv/docs/PDF/mike_prm.pdf

Solar Water Heating Systems - A Buyer's Guide
http://www.canren.gc.ca/app/filerepository/AC5201041AFA42A1BFD51EA128F787CF.pdf

Geometry.Net - Basic_S: Solar Photovoltaic Energy
http://www.geometry.net/detail/basic_s/solar_photovoltaic_energy.html
Collection of academic resources on the topic of photovoltaic energy.


More on target:

Marketing Strategy for the Development of the Canadian Photovoltaic Market
http://www.canren.gc.ca/prod_serv/index.asp?CaId=159&PgId=838
Good academic paper, slightly different target market.

SMUD?s PV Program What We?ve Learned and Where We?re Heading
http://www.solarelectricpower.org/ewebeditpro/items/O63F1702.pdf

http://www.pacificsolar.com.au/html/ConferencePapers.html
Taking PV into the Mainstream: The Appliance Approach
http://www.pacificsolar.com.au/ConferencePapers/03MayTheApplianceApproach.pdf

Kyoto - End-Use Energy Demand (Residential & Commercial)
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/kyoto/enduse.html


Excellent:

PROMOTION OF RESIDENTIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND USE OF GREEN ENERGY
http://www.ctech.ac.za/conf/due/SOURCE/Web/Tiedeman/Tiedeman.html


------------------------
residential photovoltaic
residential photovoltaic (purchasing OR purchase) decision

------------------------

That'll get you started, I hope.  Be on the lookout for the right
keywords - academic jargon specific to your topic.