Psychological determinants of intentions to upgrade the energy standards of privately-owned buildings: results from a Norwegian survey

Abstract

This paper reports the results of an online survey on Norwegian households (N = 175) that analysed the structure of psychological determinants of the intention to substantially upgrade the energy standard of a residential building. Variables from several psychological action models were integrated into a proposed model of energy investments which was tested in a path analysis approach. The model received good support from the data. Intentions to invest were primarily determined by personal norms, but also by attitudes and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy was more important in a shorter as compared to a longer time frame. Personal norms were linked to social norms, problem awareness and an altruistic value orientation. Self-efficacy was positively linked to perceived consumer effectiveness and general innovativeness, whereas to link to hedonistic values was negative. Implications of the findings for intervention and policy design are discussed briefly.