Abstract
Installed prices for residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have declined significantly in recent years. However price dispersion and limited customer access to PV quotes prevents some prospective customers from obtaining low price offers. This study shows that improved customer access to prices – also known as price transparency – is a potential policy lever for further PV price reductions. We use customer search and strategic pricing theory to show that PV installation companies face incentives to offer lower prices in markets with more price transparency. We test this theoretical framework using a unique residential PV quote dataset. Our results show that installers offer lower prices to customers that are expected to receive more quotes. Our study provides a rationale for policies to improve price transparency in residential PV markets.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 406-412 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Energy Policy |
| Volume | 117 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
NREL Publication Number
- NREL/JA-6A20-70800
Keywords
- Competition
- Installers
- Price transparency
- Prices
- Quotes
- Solar PV
