An Investigation on the Inconsistency of Consumer Preferences for Product Appearance: a Case Study of Residential Solar Panels

The importance of the appearance of consumer products is widely understood. This paper considers an evaluation of the appearance of a technology-oriented product, the residential solar panel, from the perspective of individuals. This study uses a quantitative approach, visual conjoint analysis, to determine preferences for product appearance of solar panels, and further explores how presenting a solar panel in its context of use can influence the consistency of consumer preferences. Approximately 200 survey respondents were shown two kinds of images of solar panels, one of a standalone panel and the other of a panel installed on a roof. Results show a significant shift of preferences when first showing the non-contextualized image and then showing the contextualized image. Such preference inconsistency provides insights with which to inform the process of user-needs revealing. INTRODUCTION Understanding users’ needs is critical to the formulation of comprehensive design requirements and the future success of a product. Users’ needs can touch on many aspects of a product, including price, functional performance, sustainability, brand, as well as product appearance. The aesthetic value of a product can be defined as the pleasure derived from seeing the product, without consideration of utility [ 1 ]. For some technology-push products that are developed around technological innovation rather than userneeds or market-needs [2], appearance is usually considered after performance or price. However, as a product rises on the S-curve of technology diffusion, that is, the technology becomes more mature and more familiar to the consumer, product appearance may play a larger role in influencing customer’s buying decisions. In this study, we examine the appearance preferences for residential solar panels. Much research has been conducted on technologies to improve engineering performance, particularly efficiency and manufacturability of the panels. Typically, elements such as panel color, size, and frame style are byproducts of engineering performance considerations. Darker solar panels are generally more efficient, while manufacturing methods and ease of installation issues govern the size and shape of a panel. However, a solar panel’s appearance can dramatically change the visual appeal of a home and thus influence whether a homeowner chooses to invest in a system and further adoption of the technology. To obtain meaningful and accurate information from users, conjoint analysis has been widely used as a costefficient tool to capture preference of products. Traditional conjoint has been proved to be successful in capturing descriptive features [3]. Visual conjoint analysis allows users to express preferences for visual features of a product such as form, size and color [4]. Studies have demonstrated the ability to accurately capture consumer preferences of this method by