Please use Means-ends analysis method to understand how consumers perceive market products and how these market products are embedded in the consumer's target hierarchy.

(Means-Ends analysis include attribute, consequence and value)

Please find out what are attributes ,and their consequences and values in this interview.

using A1=attribute one, a2,a3..c1..v1

Provide a written summary of the findings from your means-ends analysis - Use interview quotes to add context to your summary

Interviewee 1

Current DER status:

• Rooftop solar panels: no
• Household battery: no

Key distinctions identified by interviewee

• Solar panels and batteries are costly
• Supply 'green' power to the grid
• Reduce community blackouts

Q: When we were speaking earlier, you indicated that one of the key distinctions was that solar panels and batteries are costly. What is the importance of that?

A: I don't have solar panels and I don't have a battery, which means I'm gonna have to pay much more than someone who already has solar panels[CL1]. Now the things is, when I hear these things getting talked about in the media, one of the first things people say is that they're expensive. Well, maybe not solar panels as much, 'cos they're supposed to pay themselves off pretty quickly[CL2]. But batteries? They're still pretty dear. Now, I get that batteries have a whole range of benefits[CL3], and I'm guessing we'll be talking about some of them in a few minutes time, but at the end of the day, you can't avoid the fact that they're expensive.

Q: And what is the significance of this to you?

A: There's a fancy term to describe this. It's...what's the phrase? An opportunity cos[CL4]t. So, I decide to spend however many thousand on getting solar panels and a battery, and that's fine and all, but it also means that I can't use that money to buy other things I might want. I mean, it's not like I have a heap of money lying around that I can throw at all these things, right?

Q: This issue of making it harder to spend on other things. What's the relevance of that for you?

A: Couple of things, I suppose. For one, it just limits my freedom to do what I want[CL5]. Suppose I need to do something else around the house, or my car breaks down or something. If I've spent that money getting solar panels and a battery, I'd find it so much harder to deal with those things. I'd have to get help from someone, or take a loan, and I hate doing that. Makes me feel so, I don't know, dependent. The second thing is that my partner and I have been saving up for a trip overseas for ages! We've obviously not been able to do anything for the last couple of years, what with COVID and all, and so we're just absolutely dying to spend some time lying on a beach somewhere warm, taking in the sights, going out for dinner, all that lovely stuff. The problem, I guess, is that we wouldn't be able to do that if we ended up buying solar panels and a battery.

Q: Thanks for that. Another key distinction you mentioned earlier was supplying green power back to the grid. Can you explain why this is important?

A: Sure! This might sound kinda funny given that I was just talking about wanting to fly overseas but I'm really concerned about Australia's carbon emissions, you know? We have all this coal, all this natural gas that we use to make power, which is doing terrible things for the environment. Now, correct me if I've got this wrong but if you have a solar panel/battery combo and then sign up to an aggregation service, you're able to supply the grid with green power, even when other renewables aren't producing power, right?

Q: Yes, that's correct.

A: Great. So, effectively, whenever your battery supplies power to the grid, you're reducing the need for those big old power stations that spew out carbon emissions. And that's pretty amazing, am I right? Just by joining one of these aggregators, you and a bunch of people like you are able to help reduce Australia's carbon emissions. Pretty powerful stuff! Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to drop that pun on you. Oops (laughs).

Q: So why is reducing carbon emissions important to you?

A: I think we have a duty to protect our environment, and reducing our carbon emissions is pretty fundamental to achieving that. But there's another thing, I suppose. If we don't reduce our carbon emissions, the world is going to become a pretty scary place. Or at least, scarier than it is already. You know, there will be more floods, more bushfires, the seas will rise... It doesn't take long before it all starts to sound pretty apocalyptic. So, reducing our carbon emissions is also, I think, important for keeping our community safe.

Q: And why is it important that the community is kept safe?

A: That's pretty obvious, right? If we don't keep our communities safe, we don't have that sense of order and stability that I think we all, I dunno, almost take for granted.

Q: Thanks. Finally, I wanted to return to the last of the key distinctions you mentioned: reducing community blackouts. Why is that important to you?

A: I'm not sure where you live but up here in the Hume region, whenever there's a power blackout, it's like everything grinds to a halt. The traffic lights go out, the local shops can't operate, the schools can't function... You can't even pump petrol from the service station because all the pumps run on power! And unfortunately, blackouts happen pretty regularly, just because of all the trees we have in the area. The wind knocks em' down and takes the power lines out. So, if we can reduce or minimise the number of blackouts we have in the community, we end up making the community safer, you know? The traffic lights work, the petrol pumps work, the schools can operate, all those little things.

Q: And why is it important that we keep the community safe?

A: Again with the funny questions (laughs). Well, it's like I was saying before: our communities flourish when they're stable and predictable. When people can wake up in the morning and have a pretty good idea of what the day will hold.

Q: Wonderful. And that brings us to the end of the interview. Thanks for your time today.

Interviewee 2

Current DER status:

• Rooftop solar panels: yes
• Household battery: no

Key distinctions identified by interviewee

• Reduce household blackouts
• Trade stored power to the grid

Q: One of the key distinctions you mentioned earlier was reducing household blackouts. Why is that important?

A: When the power goes out, everything in my house goes a bit haywire. You see, we're located a bit out of town, and so we have tank water rather than mains water. Normally you'd never notice, except when the power goes out, because the only way you can get the water out of the tank is with an electric pump. So, whenever the power goes out, you can't flush the toilet, can't have a shower, can't even get a glass of water from the tap. So yeah, power blackouts are more than a minor inconvenience for us. If we had a battery, we'd just be able to carry on as usual, you know? Still be able to do the dishes, still be able to flush the toilet...And that's not even talking about the benefits of still being able to run our electric applications. Put simply: it would just help us maintain our normal lifestyle.

Q: And why is it important that you're able to maintain your normal lifestyle?

A: I hate the feeling of choices being cut off from me, of being constrained in what I want to do. I like feeling self-reliant, of having the freedom to do what I want, when I want. So, yeah, I guess that would be the reason.

Q: Great. The other key distinction you mentioned was trading stored power to the grid. Can you explain this in a bit more detail?

A: Sure. One of the nice things about signing up to an aggregation service is that you can have your stored battery power traded to the grid. From what I gather, that's the only way this can happen. And for me, that's important because it would just mean that I'd be able to pay off my battery quicker than otherwise. I mean, if you have power stored in your battery that you're not using, why wouldn't you let someone sell it on your behalf and earn some extra money?

Q: And what is the significance of being able to pay off your battery quicker than usual?

A: It just opens up other opportunities, you know? If I'm not worrying about paying off the battery, I can just have a bit more flexibility to spend on other things.

Q: And why is that important?

A: Ahh, well, it's the little treats you can spend on yourself that make life just that bit sweeter. An evening out here, a trip to the movies there... Things to enjoy and experience, you know?

Q: Thanks. And that brings us to the end of the interview!

Interviewee 3

Current DER status:

• Rooftop solar panels: no
• Household battery: no

Key distinctions identified by interviewee

• Trade stored power to the grid
• Supply 'green' power to the grid
• Reduce community blackouts

Q: When we spoke earlier, the first key distinction you mentioned was trading stored power to the grid. Why is that important?

A: Well, I'd have to spend I don't know how many thousand dollars to get a battery, so it'd be nice if it could earn itself a bit of extra money, just so I could pay it off a bit quicker, you know what I'm saying? And I suppose that's one of the benefits of signing up to one of these aggregators: they let you trade your power to the grid, which is something you wouldn't otherwise be able to do.

Q: And what is the importance of being able to pay off your battery a bit quicker?

A: I guess if I could pay it off a bit quicker, I could, you know, afford more stuff.

Q: What would be the significance of that?

A: Of what?

Q: Of feeling a bit freer to purchase other things.

A: Well, there's the constant drip...drip...drip of stuff that you buy that you may not necessarily need but which are quite nice to have. Coffees, you know? Your monthly Netflix subscription. That kind of stuff. And having that freedom to purchase those things is, well, nice. It just brings a sense of enjoyment, I guess. A sense of pleasure.

Q: Another of the key distinctions you identified was being able to supply green power to the grid. Why is that important to you?

A: I suppose it goes down to trying to reduce our carbon emissions, you know? I've been paying a bit of attention to what we need to do to try and avoid climate change, and one of the biggest things the experts are saying is that we have to electrify everything. Our cars, our heating, everything. Ok, great, but that only works if our supply of power is coming from green sources. And at the moment, it's not. So yeah, that's what I see as being really key about signing up to one of these aggregators. It's about putting green power back on to the grid during times of the day when there isn't much green power being generated. It's just a small way that I can help with reducing our carbon emissions.

Q: And what is the importance to you of reducing carbon emissions?

A: This is probably a more old-school view but I see us...and by us, I mean humans...as custodians of the environment. I mean, we can't just be using the environment for our own purposes, right? We share this planet with billions upon billions of other creatures, and just because many of them can't speak for themselves, doesn't mean they aren't worthy of protection. So yeah, for me, the importance of reducing our carbon emissions stems from the need to protect the environment.

Q: I see. The final key distinction you noted was reducing community blackouts. Why is that important to you?

A: Look, up here in the Hume region, we're probably at higher risk of blackouts than a lot of other parts of Victoria. It just comes with the territory, you know? Lots of forest, relatively few transmission lines into the area...it doesn't take much to knock out the power supply. The problem is that when the power goes, so too does our ability to access some of our critical infrastructure. The hospital, for example, might have a backup generator, but does the local GP clinic? Or the local school? What about the traffic lights? Or an elderly person at home who needs power to keep cool in the middle of summer? So, if there's an ability to reduce community blackouts by signing up to an aggregator service, then yeah, count me in as I think it's a way to help keep my community safe.

Q: And why is it important that you keep your community safe?

A: Couple of reasons, I suppose. The first is that it's important for people to feel safe and secure in their everyday lives. The second is that a safe community makes things safer for me too. I mean, think about it. Sure, if I had a battery, I might be fine and dandy at home during a blackout, but what happens if I needed to go somewhere and all the traffic lights are out? Or I was sick and needed to see my local GP? If those things aren't working, it doesn't matter that I might have power at home; it would still make my life a bit more dangerous.

Q: Thanks. And that brings us to the end of the interview!

Interviewee 4

Current DER status:

• Rooftop solar panels: no
• Household battery: no

Key distinctions identified by interviewee

• Solar panels and batteries are costly
• Trade stored power to the grid
• Reduce household blackouts

Q: When we were speaking earlier, one of the key distinctions you mentioned was the fact that solar panels and batteries are costly. Why is that important to you?

A: Look, I love the idea of having panels and a battery, but geez, the cost thing is a bit of a barrier. I just don't have thousands of dollars sitting around that I could put towards this. Maybe if I won the lottery (laughs) but at the moment, it's hard to think how I'd be able to afford this. I mean, let's imagine for a moment that I used my savings to buy panels and a battery. I might be able to do that, but it would make it really hard to pay for everything else I need, like petrol or food or things like that. So yeah, getting panels and a battery would probably mean I'd have to cut back on other things I'd normally need to buy.

Q: And what would be the significance of that for you?

A: I wouldn't say I'm a frivolous person, but I also wouldn't like to feel like I needed to check my bank balance every time I wanted to buy something. I like that feeling of freedom to know that, so long as the price isn't too unreasonable, I've got enough money in the bank to buy the things I want. If I'm having to cut back on the things I'd normally buy, that feeling of freedom, of independence, disappears, you know? For me, that's a bit of a turnoff.

Q: I see. Another key distinction you mentioned was about trading stored power to the grid. Why is that important to you?

A: Well, if - and I must stress, it's a massive if - I was to buy a battery, I'd be wanting to pay it off as quick as I could, because those things aren't cheap. That's probably where the value of the aggregation service comes in, you know? I mean, they're the only way that you're able to earn money from your battery, so if there are times of the day when you're not really using it, I reckon it makes sense to trade the power that it has stored, just so you can pay off the battery a bit faster.

Q: And why would paying off the battery faster be important to you?

A: Well, it would free up money to spend on other things, you know?

Q: And what would be the importance to you of being able to spend money on other things?

A: It's just nice to, you know, pop down the shops and get a vanilla slice or a coffee every now and then. Small things like that; things that bring a little smile to the face.

Q: Thanks. The final key distinction you mentioned was reducing household blackouts. Why would this be important for you?

A: I work from home a lot, and I often have to meet with people via Zoom from all over the world because of the type of work I do. It means that I might be having a meeting at 5 in the morning or 11 at night, depending on who I'm meeting with and what time zone they're in. So, blackouts, when they happen, are pretty disruptive for me. They completely disrupt my normal routine because the internet will cut out and I'm having to scramble into the office and hoping that they still have power. It's just a real inconvenience. Now, if I had a household battery, that issue would be completely solved. It would just mean I could go about my daily routine without always having the niggling thought of, 'What if the power goes out?'

Q: And what for you is the significance of being able to maintain your normal routine?

A: This might sound contradictory but there's freedom in having a routine, you know? If you've developed a routine that suits your needs and preferences, you don't want someone or something coming along and disrupting that routine. You just want that the freedom and ability to keep doing your normal routine, whatever else is happening around you.

Q: Great. And that brings us to the end of the interview!