Social acceptance of renewable energy technologies for buildings in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area of Finland

Abstract

The application of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in the residential building sector requires acceptance of technical solutions by key stakeholders, such as building owners, real-estate developers, and energy providers. The objective of this study is to identify the current status of public perceptions of RETs that are available in the Finnish market and associated influencing factors, such as perceived reliability, investment cost, payback time, and national incentives. A web-based questionnaire was disseminated to the general public in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area (n = 246). Social perceptions of building-integrated RETs were evaluated through integration of survey data and Stochastic Multicriteria Acceptability Analysis (SMAA), which was applied to analyse the robustness of the survey results. The SMAA demonstrated that Finnish residents exhibit broad acceptance of multiple options, rather than preference for a single RET. Solar technologies and ground source heat pumps were the most preferred options and evaluated as very reliable, whereas wind-based technologies and combined heat and power were ranked as the least popular. In general, respondents indicated a strong willingness to financially invest in RETs as a means to reduce their carbon footprint and preferred tax deductions as an incentive to invest in RETs.