Factors Affecting Residents’ Adoption of Energy-efficient Lighting in Rural Areas of China

Abstract

Energy conservation is one of the core topics to address the goals for sustainable development. Approximately 40% of the total energy are consumed by buildings currently [1]. Energy consumed by lighting accounts for about 20% among all the segments in buildings. Therefore, it’s extremely important to improve the energy efficiency of lighting in buildings. However, this process is relatively slow in the rural areas of China, despite the government’s policies and subsidies on lighting efficiency. According to the current study, only about half of the dwellings in the rural areas has adopted energy saving light sources. The aim of current study is to reveal the key factors that affect the adoption of energy-efficient lighting in the rural areas of Fujian province in China, and provide valuable information for addressing the barriers. From the survey data collected from 321 valid responses, it becomes clear that for the residents who lived in the rural area, their personal characteristics, the perceived ease of use, the perceived lighting quality, and the impact of indoor lighting on their health were not associated with the actual use of the energy-efficient light sources at home. On the other hand, social support, awareness of the technology, and the perception of cost effectiveness were identified to be significantly correlated with the acceptance of energy-efficient light sources. A mediation analysis further shows an important causal relationship among these factors. Social support significantly improves the users’ awareness toward energy-efficient lighting designs, which would influence their perception on the cost effectiveness, which in turn would translate into actual adoption of energy-efficient light sources. These findings will pave the way for better understanding of the influencing factors for the acceptance of energy-efficient light sources, and provide the policy makes with valuable information for the formation and implementation of favourable policies and support programs, in order to speed up the spread of energy-efficient light sources in rural areas of China.