Households that adopt solar panels can reduce their average electricity unit costs either by feeding the generated amount of electricity into the grid or by self-consuming it. Due to the reductions in prices and changes in behavior and attitudes, rebound effects in solar prosuming can occur. We estimate the solar rebound effects using a representative sample for Germany. Using a propensity score matching approach, we show that the initial differences in electricity consumption are eliminated when we compare households that are similar in characteristics that explain electricity consumption, but differ in adoption of a solar panel. By using different regression specifications and set of covariates, we differentiate between the distinct mechanisms that explain rebound effects in the context of solar prosuming.

Speakers: Ayse Tugba Atasoy, Hendrik Schmitz and Reinhard Madlener

Dr. Ayse Tugba Atasoy is a postdoctoral research associate at FCN. Prior to joining FCN, she worked as a research assistant at DIW Berlin and the University of Marburg. She has a bachelor's degree in Economics from Yildiz Technical University and a master's degree in Economics and Institutions from the University of Marburg. She completed her Ph.D. in Energy Economics at RWTH Aachen University in 2021. Using experimental and empirical approaches, she studies questions in energy and behavioral economics, with a focus on energy efficiency standards, electricity pricing and tariffs, and renewable technology adoption.

Dr. Hendrik Schmitz studied Economics at University of Muenster, Germany, where he obtained the degrees of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and Master of Science (M.Sc.). He joined RWTH Aachen University in March of 2014 as a research associate and doctoral student. He finished his docotral degree in July of 2020. Currently, his main research area is the rebound effect and its economic and political implications on a micro- and macroeconomic scale.

Dr. Reinhard Madlener is full professor of energy economics and management at the School of Business & Economics, RWTH Aachen University, Germany; adjunct professor at the Department of Industrial Economics & Technology Management, NTNU, Trondheim; Norway, and founding and current director of the Institute for Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN) at RWTH’s interdisciplinary and integrated E.ON Energy Research Center. His research fields are energy economics and policy, sustainable energy transition, technological diffusion, and investment under uncertainty.