Messaging and Low-income Solar Adoption

Last registered on May 01, 2018
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Messaging and Low-income Solar Adoption
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002218
Initial registration date
May 15, 2017

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
May 16, 2017, 12:09 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
May 01, 2018, 1:08 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region
Connecticut

Primary Investigator

Name
Kenneth Gillingham
Affiliation
Yale University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Steven Sexton
PI Affiliation
Duke University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Bryan Bollinger
PI Affiliation
Duke University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2017-05-15
End date
2018-07-15
Keywords
Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
pro-social, price, information
JEL code(s)
Q4
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The market for residential solar panels in the United States is growing rapidly, bolstered by substantial government support at the federal, state, and local levels. Yet there are concerns that this support is primarily benefiting wealthier households, due to different electricity rates, liquidity constraints, landlord-tenant issues, length of tenancy, and perhaps even preferences (Borenstein and Davis 2016, Borenstein 2017). This study examines the effect of information provision and preferred financing on the adoption of residential solar panels by low and moderate income (LMI) households. Specifically, we randomize LMI municipalities in Connecticut into those receiving a behavioral intervention focused on "community-based pro-social" messaging and "financial-based" messaging. At the same time, we are exploiting an income eligibility discontinuity for subsidized financing to LMI participants. We will measure the effect of the different messaging approaches above and below this discontinuity on the demand for residential solar systems in LMI municipalities. We will thus quantify the effects of different potential policies for encouraging the adoption of solar systems in LMI municipalities.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bollinger, Bryan, Kenneth Gillingham and Steven Sexton. 2018. "Messaging and Low-income Solar Adoption." AEA RCT Registry. May 01. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2218-3.0
Former Citation
Bollinger, Bryan, Kenneth Gillingham and Steven Sexton. 2018. "Messaging and Low-income Solar Adoption." AEA RCT Registry. May 01. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2218/history/29008
Sponsors & Partners

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
In each municipality we are running a behavioral intervention designed to encourage solar adoption. This intervention is called a "Solarize" campaign, and it involves a roughly 18-week campaign, a single chosen solar installation company (based on a competitive bidding process), discount pricing, a kick-off event, solar open houses, tabling at town events, designated volunteer solar ambassadors who coordinate the campaign with SmartPower. The intervention is specifically designed to foster word-of-mouth and social interaction effects.

The difference between the community-based messaging and the financial-based messaging approaches is that all of the materials given by SmartPower to the ambassadors and potential solar customers exclusively uses very different messages about solar PV. Similarly, SmartPower employees are instructed to exclusively lead with a different set of messages in verbal discussion and to instruct the ambassadors to focus on these messages.
Intervention Start Date
2017-05-15
Intervention End Date
2018-07-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The key outcome variables are solar adoptions, and mediating factors that influence adoptions.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The program will launch in phases. This allows for a greater sample size. In each phase, LMI municipalities will be randomly assigned to one of two messaging treatments arms or a control. The sample size for the first round is 8 treated plus 4 control municipalities. As campaigns are completed in the first round, the second round begins similarly, followed by the third round.

The Connecticut Green Bank collects data on all residential solar installations in the state.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
The randomization was done by generating a random number and then assigning to each municipality. Balance checks were carried out to ensure that the municipality characteristics were similar across treatment and control.
Randomization Unit
The unit of randomization is the municipality itself.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
30 municipalities
Sample size: planned number of observations
30 municipalities
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
12 municipalities receive "community-based messaging"
12 municipalities receive "financial-based messaging"
12 municipalities are in the control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Yale Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2016-09-23
IRB Approval Number
1608018306
Analysis Plan

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials