One of the the Impact Projects promoted and funded by the  Division of Innovation & Sustainability at the University of Haifa, produced a research article “Not All about the Money: The Role of Financial Information in Promoting Residential Rooftop Photovoltaics”, published in the Energies 2024, 17(9), 2043.

The research was carried out by Mr. David Boaz, M.A. from the School of Environmental Sciences, under the guidance of Dr. Ruslana Palatnik and Prof. Ofira Ayalon.

This study investigates the role of financial information in shaping the intention to adopt (ITA) Residential Rooftop Photovoltaic (RPV) systems in Israel—a country with a surprisingly low RPV adoption rate given the high solar irradiance, and significant governmental support for RPV. Researchers used online survey of 899 respondents to examine how different presentations of RPV revenues impact both RPV deal comprehension and ITA. The results align with existing literature on the roles of early technology adopters and pro-environmental characteristics while introducing two novel findings. First, households value their roofs—especially flat ones used for leisure. This negatively impacts ITA. Second, there is a positive correlation between trust in government entities and ITA, underscoring the importance of trust in institutions. Although financial information does enhance RPV deal comprehension, it does not significantly influence ITA. This study concludes that RPV penetration should not be promoted solely by financial incentives, but also by other motivations like environmental concerns, novelty seeking, and improved institutional trust.