POLICY DEVELOPMENT FOR SOLAR WATER HEATERS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN; A CASE STUDY.

In this research, the willingness to support a policy that enforces the installation of solar water heaters on every building in Cyprus is analyzed. The current status of solar water heating (SWH) systems in Cyprus is also evaluated in terms of utility and installation. The binary logit regression model, descriptive statistics, and chi-square crosstab analysis are used to analyze the data collected from 1000 residences across the Island. Cyprus has dropped from first to third in the world's ranking of solar water heaters per capita installation. Out of the 1000 resident sample residence, 778 respondents have solar water heaters installed and 222 had not installed solar water heating systems at the time the data was collected. Findings from this study indicate that respondents support solar water heating installation policy enforcement when their pipes are insulated. They also perceive solar water heating systems to be important and worth the investment. Respondents who would recommend solar water heating to others were more likely to support the enforcement of solar water heating installation policies. On the other hand, respondents who installed solar water heating because their neighbors had done so tended not to support its enforcement. Therefore, it is recommended that the government consider some of the aforementioned factors in order to maximize the benefits of SWH systems on the island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]