Adoption of solar power – why or why not? 

P1#y1
With two million households across the country having rooftop solar panels, it’s clear 
that Australians love harnessing the power of the sun! But what are the main drivers 
and barriers to adoption? Here’s what we found in a recent survey…

When it comes to solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, what are the main drivers and barriers 
to adoption? 

To explore this question in more detail, we ran a survey through CSIRO Energise on the topic of residential solar power. 
Almost half (~47%) of our survey respondents reported having solar panels to generate electricity. Nationwide, it’s 
estimated that about 20% of Australian households have rooftop solar PV, so the rate of adoption is much higher among 
our sample than the broader population. 

What’s driving adoption? 

Next, we asked those with solar to tell us in their own words what the reasons were for installing panels on their roof. 

Most of our respondents (~75%) gave financial reasons, such as saving money on energy bills, taking advantage of 
subsidies/rebates and attractive feed-in tariffs at the time of installation. 

Environmental reasons were the second most common response, with over half (~53%) of those with solar reporting a 
desire to help the environment, reduce carbon emissions, contribute to sustainability and so forth. 

A much smaller number of respondents (~7%) said that independence from the electricity grid – for instance, a desire for 
more control and autonomy, self-sufficiency and the ability to go off-grid – was a major reason for installing solar. Other 
less common reasons included a sense of social responsibility, a desire to offset home electricity use and a general interest 
in solar technology. 

 

 

P11#yIS1
0%


10%


20%


30%


40%


50%


60%


70%


80%


Economic reasons


Environmental reasons


Grid independence


Save/reduce/offset use; efficiency


Social responsibility


Government/industry inaction


Interested in technology


Support battery/EV


Reliable/secure energy supply


Other reasons


Invalid


Percentage of responses


Key drivers of uptake -current solar PV owners

Why did your household purchase solar panels?



What are the barriers to adoption? 

For those respondents without panels on the roof, we asked why their home doesn’t have (or can’t have) solar. Financial 
reasons were the most common response (~38%), with many people stating that the upfront costs of solar panels and low 
return-on-investment were major barriers. 

For some, installing solar panels simply wasn’t possible because they were renting a property and/or not the home-owner 
(~28% of survey respondents), or because they lived in an unsuitable type of dwelling (~19%), such as an apartment, unit or 
property with body corporate restrictions. 

Other less common reasons for not having solar panels included suboptimal land and property characteristics (e.g. too 
much shade/tree cover, limited roof space), the property needing other home repairs and renovations first, or simply not 
getting around to it. 

 

 

P17#yIS1
0%


5%


10%


15%


20%


25%


30%


35%


40%


Economic reasons (e.g. cost)


Renting/not home owner


Dwelling type (e.g. unit, apartment)


Other property/land limitations


Home repairs/renos/expenses


Haven't got around to it


Need/want/waiting for battery


Lack of info, distrust, confusion


Considering/installing solar


Recently moved/plan to move


Aesthetics/appearance


Other barriers


Percentage of responses


Key barriers to solar uptake

Please tell us why your home doesn't have (or can't have) solar panels


What have we learned? 

It’s clear that many factors contribute to 
the adoption of solar panels across 
Australia, with different people and 
households often having different 
motivations. There are also various 
financial and structural barriers that may 
make it difficult or impossible for 
households to adopt solar. Having a 
better understanding of these diverse 
drivers and barriers is important, as it 
may inform the design of future policies 
and programs to enable greater uptake 
of renewables across the country. 


 

For further information 

csiro.au/energise 

Contact us 

1300 363 400 

+61 3 9545 2176 

csiroenquiries@csiro.au 

csiro.au 

As Australia’s national science agency 
and innovation catalyst, CSIRO is solving 
the greatest challenges through 
innovative science and technology. 

CSIRO. Unlocking a better future for everyone. 



Survey snapshots provide a quick look at some of the results provided so far by our citizen scientists