Consumers’ Experiences of Using Solar Energy at Natore District in Bangladesh - Abstract
This paper explores the experiences of solar energy consumers at Natore District of Bangladesh. The research questions of the study are (i) What are
the benefits and challenges of using solar energy in Natore District?; (ii) How do environmental variations impact consumers’ experiences of using solar energy
in Natore District?; and (iii) How do government agencies’ decisions influence consumers’ choices of solar energy usage in Natore District? The research is
carried out as a mixed-method study with sample survey of 120 participants and 8 in-depth interviews. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed for the
quantitative part whereas a thematic content analysis was performed in the qualitative part. The factors and themes were predefined based on the factors
identified in the theory of Diffusion of Innovation by Everett M. Rogers [1]: Relative advantage, Compatibility, Complexity, Trialability and Observability. Results
and findings of the study show the user experiences and adoption of SHS based on the themes and impact of government’s initiatives and policies. The results
and findings from quantitative and qualitative data confirmed successful triangulation.