Wood-Pellet Heating in Norway: Early Adopters' Satisfaction and Problems That Have Been Experienced

Abstract

Given the vital role of early adopters during the early stage of wood-pellet heating development, this study aims to explore the factors that explain the overall satisfaction among the early adopters of this type of heating as well as the problems experienced with wood-pellet heating in Norway. Ordinal regression was used to analyze empirical data which was collected from a mail survey in autumn 2008. The response rate of 45% was composed of 669 early adopters of wood-pellet heating. Findings show that both economic factor (i.e., cost) and technical factors (i.e., pellet stove performance) have played a significant role in early adopters’ overall satisfaction with wood-pellet heating. The most common problems experienced are igniter failure in the pellet stove, lack of committed and competent suppliers/vendors, more time and effort than expected during maintenance, and fines from pellets both during handling and combustion.