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The residential building sector is responsible for a large proportion of the energy consumption worldwide, mainly due to heating, cooling and domestic hot water needs. TESSe2b solution is the outcome of a four-year Horizon 2020 funded project intending to deal with the above issue, through the enhancement of energy efficiency in buildings. In the context of TESSe2b project, a compact and low cost thermal energy storage technology is designed, developed, validated and demonstrated; small-sized thermal energy storage tanks with phase change materials (PCM TES) are combined with solar collectors and high performance geothermal heat pumps. A key-issue regarding the successful diffusion of the technology is consumers’ acceptance and adoption behavior. The present study aims to evaluate the self-reported behavioral intention of the TESSe2b solution in different European countries, as well as the factors that can affect this issue. On this basis, a behavioral survey was performed in five EU Member States (Austria, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Germany) between June 2016 and February 2017. The issues under investigation included: a) consumers’ views on perceived benefits of the technology, b) consumers’ perceived adoption intention of the technology, c) willingness to pay (in €) for the technology and d) acceptable payback period in order for someone to be willing to pay for the TESSe2b system. In order to examine the total sample of 583 respondents, separate statistical analyses were performed for each country. The sample was primarily analyzed through descriptive statistics, while ordinal logistic regressions were performed in order to examine the effect of socioeconomic and residence characteristics on consumers’ views concerning perceived benefits, adoption intention, willingness to pay and acceptable payback period of the TESSe2b system.Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric tests were applied in order to identify any differences between the different countries, regarding participants' views on the issues under consideration. The main factors that were identified to positively affect consumers’ views on TESSe2b technology are a) income, b) percentage of income spent on energy expenses, c) educational level, d) previous investments in relevant technologies, e) occupation or interest related to technology or the environment and f) household size. Age of construction, installed heating system and type of residence area are additional factors that have an impact on the subjects under investigation. In a broader context, the findings of the study contribute to the understanding of consumers’ behavior regarding residential heating/ cooling systems.

Abstract presented at the 6th Student Conference of HELORS.

Policy brief of the Greek case study in the H2020 UNISECO project. UNISECO is a European research project aiming to develop innovative approaches to enhance the understanding of socio-economic and policy drivers and barriers for further development and implementation of agro-ecological practices in EU farming systems. Learn more about the project: https://uniseco-project.eu/ This project has received funding from the European Union's H2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 773901. This publication reflects only the authors' view and that the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.