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Citation |
Kotani H, Nakano K. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 2023; 90: e103656. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
Photovoltaic (PV) panels, increasingly popular due to decarbonization, are expected to increase household resilience during natural hazard-triggered blackouts. Their effectiveness is also expected to improve with the addition of storage batteries. However, PV ownership does not necessarily lead to electricity use in blackouts; even when used, the actual use of electrical appliances is unclear. We examined households that owned PV panels and experienced a natural hazard-triggered blackout to determine what barriers and facilitating factors existed for using PV electricity, which electrical appliances could be used with PV, and whether the benefits of PV changed with storage batteries. A questionnaire survey targeted households in Japan that experienced blackouts caused by the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake and the 2019 Typhoon Faxai, respectively, and their responses (n = 282 and 259, respectively) were analyzed. Descriptive statistics showed that while it was sometimes necessary to switch PV systems to stand-alone operation mode during blackouts, most respondents who did not use PV systems did not know how to operate them, which was a barrier to their use. The main facilitating factors were preparation like advance explanations from the sales staff and the regular manual check for use in case of blackouts. Bayesian item response theory models demonstrated that PV electricity enabled households to use a variety of electrical appliances, including those related to food and communication (i.e., refrigerators and cell phone chargers), whose needs increased during the blackouts. The probability of each appliance being used increased in households with batteries. The above results were commonly confirmed regardless of hazard type. These findings will improve the disaster resilience of households equipped with PV panels and batteries, as well as spread the installation of such equipment by highlighting their benefits. Language: en |
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Keywords |
Disasters; Energy storage; Indirect benefits; Power outage; Resilience; Solar energy |