Climate Change Risk Perception and the Adoption of Solar Home Systems Among Rural Households

Abstract

This study investigates how rural households' climate change risk perception influences the adoption of Solar Home Systems (SHSs). While decentralized renewable energy technologies present a transformative pathway to combat rural energy poverty and escalating climatic shocks, actual adoption rates remain suboptimal. Conventional scholarly discourse has predominantly attributed low clean energy uptake to structural and financial constraints, frequently sidelining cognitive and behavioral dimensions. Integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), this research utilizes an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Quantitative household survey data ($N = 120$) were processed using IBM SPSS Statistics for descriptive, correlational, and binary logistic regression modeling, while qualitative data from key informant interviews and focus groups were analyzed via NVivo. Empirical findings reveal that over 82% of respondents observe profound environmental shifts, including prolonged dry spells, erratic rainfall, and rising temperatures. Furthermore, binary logistic regression confirms that climate change risk perception is a robust, statistically significant independent predictor of SHS adoption ($p < 0.05$), even when controlling for household income and credit constraints. The study advocates for integrated policy frameworks that couple innovative financing architectures-such as Pay- As-You-Go (PAYG) models-with targeted climate risk communication campaigns to accelerate sustainable rural energy transitions.