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)

this is the interview transcript 4:

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!