GIS-Integrated Agent-Based Modeling of Residential Solar PV Diffusion

Large-scale technology diffusion trends emerge over time from household-level decisions, based on consumer attributes, market drivers, and complex interactions with other consumers via social networks. In this paper we study the diffusion of solar photovoltaics (PV) through heterogeneous populations of interconnected consumers by integrating adopter characteristics, social network structure, and decision-making processes. Specifically, utilizing household-level data from four independent micro-level data streams joined in a geographic information system (GIS), we developed an agent based model (ABM) to simulate spatially-resolved residential PV diffusion over time in Austin, Texas. The ABM outcomes are compared to real-world data over the same time-frame to evaluate the spatial and temporal accuracy of the model.

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