Old Technology and Social Innovations. Inside the Austrian Success Story on Solar Water Heaters

A central claim of sustainable development is the far-reaching use of renewable forms of energy. This article focuses on the fact that solar water heaters are much more popular in Austria than in most other European countries. The enormous success of solar heaters in the 1990s is explained by two specific social phenomena that only can be observed in Austria: first, by a self-construction movement, consisting of single do-it-yourself groups started in the early 1980s that has spread throughout Austria. A major aspect of this movement was a comprehensive diffusion strategy that made it easy for nearly everyone to get a solar water system. Second, an atypical group of adopters were responsible for the unexpected dissemination success. Most of these early adopters were households in rural regions, interested in solar heaters due to a feature that already played a central role in the very beginning of this technology - more personal comfort. The close connection between the self-construction movement and early users enabled ongoing technical improvements of the system, which were adopted by commercial producers and installation companies.