Solar Adoption, Local Initiatives, Exchanges among Neighbors, and Conspicuous Environmentalism (SALIENCE)

Last registered on June 17, 2019

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Solar Adoption, Local Initiatives, Exchanges among Neighbors, and Conspicuous Environmentalism (SALIENCE)
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003362
Initial registration date
September 28, 2018

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
October 03, 2018, 1:45 PM EDT

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

Last updated
June 17, 2019, 3:03 AM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Georgia State University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
MIT
PI Affiliation
Yale University

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2018-09-28
End date
2020-06-30
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The market for residential solar panels in the United States is growing rapidly. Yet, there are concerns that its expansion is not benefiting some population groups, especially people from lower-income households and people living in multifamily homes. As a result, new business models are emerging, reaching out to these groups. One of them is peer-to-peer solar. People who cannot have or afford a solar panel can purchase electricity from another household, through a peer-to-peer market. This study examines the effect of information campaigns promoting the adoption of solar panels through peer-to-peer solar. These campaigns would inform potential customers about the social aspects of joining the platform. Our campaigns are launched concurrently to citywide initiatives raising attention to solar energy. Potential customers are thus encouraged to go solar along with their fellow town residents. Our campaigns also stress that social rewards could be obtained by behaving in a green way, as the peer-to-peer platform allows sharing information on green behavior to online social networks. Specifically, we randomize potential customers in Massachusetts into those receiving a behavioral intervention focused on the community aspect of going solar as a city versus the social rewards of going green in a visible way (and a combination of the two). Hence, we complement a recent literature examining whether people are interested in sharing their greenness and whether they are more likely to undertake a given green behavior if that allows them to obtain social rewards for it.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Carattini, Stefano, Kenneth Gillingham and Erez Yoeli. 2019. "Solar Adoption, Local Initiatives, Exchanges among Neighbors, and Conspicuous Environmentalism (SALIENCE) ." AEA RCT Registry. June 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3362-2.0
Former Citation
Carattini, Stefano, Kenneth Gillingham and Erez Yoeli. 2019. "Solar Adoption, Local Initiatives, Exchanges among Neighbors, and Conspicuous Environmentalism (SALIENCE) ." AEA RCT Registry. June 17. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3362/history/48224
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Potential customers in municipalities in Massachusetts are approached online with informational advertisement promoting the peer-to-peer solar platform developed by MySunBuddy. Randomized treatments are applied to the messaging contained in the advertisement. Similar treatments, consistent with the messaging in the advertisement, are applied to the landing page on MySunBuddy’s website. Potential customers who join the platform will also experience the treatment as customers. Messaging focuses on (1) citywide initiatives to foster the adoption of solar panels; (2) the ability to share regular reports on solar energy generated via MySunBuddy to online social networks.
Intervention Start Date
2018-09-28
Intervention End Date
2020-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Clicks on the advertisements; new users joining MySunBuddy’s website and peer-to-peer solar platform.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Potential customers are informed about MySunBuddy’s service through the advertisement campaign. The sample size may decrease as we move from one primary outcome to the other, and as we move from primary to secondary outcomes.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
In a later extension (with IRB approval), potential secondary outcomes such as the following could be considered: fraction of reports shared online; effect of the reports shared online on new potential adopters; purchase of electricity through MySunBuddy’s platform; electricity sold through MySunBuddy’s platform by people who already own solar installations; leads; new solar installations; electricity sold through MySunBuddy’s platform by people who purchase solar installations.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
MySunBuddy is a marketplace, where buyers and sellers of solar electricity meet. All households in the participating cities can join MySunBuddy and become buyers. Sellers need to have a solar installation on their rooftop, whose electricity may be shared with others. The interventions may lead to new solar installations.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Potential buyers and sellers will be approached through online advertisement. Potential buyers and sellers will be divided into four groups. Each group will receive a unique treatment, the result of a 2x2 treatment design.
Experimental Design Details
Potential buyers and sellers will be approached through online advertisement. Potential buyers and sellers will be divided into four groups. Each group will receive a unique treatment, the result of a 2x2 treatment design. The treatment arms follow from two frames. The first frame provides information on the community aspect of going solar, as a given municipality participating in this treatment will be undertaking citywide initiatives to spur the adoption of solar PV at the same time of our intervention (vs. a neutral, individual, frame). A second frame provides information on the regular reports that MySunBuddy will provide to these customers, which can be shared online (vs. no mention of reports). The treatments will be applied also to the landing page, for the potential customers who would click on the advertisement. People joining the platform following the second frame will receive regular reports on the solar energy that they are contributing to generate, and they will be able to share them online. People joining the platform following a combination of the first and the second frame will receive regular reports on the solar energy that they, and their city, are contributing to generate, and they will be able to share them online.
Randomization Method
Randomization as given by the A/B testing feature in Facebook Ads Manager.
Randomization Unit
Potential customer.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Geographical clustering. Cities and neighborhoods within cities as per Massachusetts administrative records.
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,000 clicks, to depend on how successful the ads are.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
250 based on clicks.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Yale University Institutional Review Board, Human Investigation Committee
IRB Approval Date
2018-04-30
IRB Approval Number
2000023240

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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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