France: High Solar Thermal Standing, But Shrinking Market

French people like solar thermal, but their wish to install a system seems to hardly come true. According to a recent survey among 1,008 persons, which was conducted by French survey company Ifop in January 2013, 5% claim to own a solar water heater and 4% a combined system for hot water and heating. Moreover, 17% of the interviewees are planning to install a solar water heater (vs 13% in 2012) and 16% a combined system (vs 12% in 2012). The target group of the survey was a representative mix of French adults in terms of sex, age, profession, region and living standard. The study, which had been commissioned by the certification body of companies in the renewable energy field, Qualit’ENR, also showed a high trust in solar technology: More than 80 % of the participants believe that solar thermal energy is a reliable technology – making it the ranking’s Number One, as the chart above shows. You will find the French Qualit’ENR summary PDFs from the beginning of January attached to this news piece.
Chart: Ifop