Market diffusion and the effect of demonstrations : a study of the Denver Metro Passive Solar Home program

Abstract

This paper is a report on the reactions to and effects of the Denver Metro Passive Solar Home demonstration program, conducted in the Spring of 1981. The purpose of the program was to provide impetus to builders for incorporating passive solar designs in spec-built homes and to demonstrate those designs to prospective buyers to increase buyer-receptivity.

A pre-post exposure analysis of the effect of the program is reported on here, with four separate groups of prospective new home buyers studied. The first group heard publicity about and voluntarily visited a demonstration home. The second group saw the home, but was recruited to come to the site. The third group, also in Denver, did not see the site, but answered the same set of questions after receiving a description of and pictures of passive solar homes. The fourth group was a control group, similar to the third, but located in Kansas City. A total of 245 individuals participated.

Analysis of the study results leads to the following conclusions: 1. Due to the high level of prior awareness and pre-disposition toward passive solar in Denver, relatively few changes in attitudes occurred. 2. The demonstration was effective in reducing concern about aesthetics and about builders' capability of producing passive solar homes. 3. The demonstration encouraged those individuals exposed to the site to actively seek additional information about passive solar. 4. Exposure to the demonstration program reduced individuals' sensitivity to the cost of passive solar.

The study identified the following actions and communications program-messages that builders and public policy makers should consider in accelerating the diffusion of passive solar: 1. Teach prospective buyers how to evalute the financial aspects of passive solar. 2. Show how passive solar can provide protection against fuel price increases. 3. Develop statistics showing that passive solar increases the resale value of homes. 4. Develop relationships with the financial community so that passive solar can easily be included in conventional mortgages.

The implication of the study for evaluating the impact of a demonstration program on market penetration is discussed in terms of the theory of diffusion of innovations and implications for further research are reviewed.