Background and Aims
EuPD Research conducts annual research studies for the Photovoltaic (PV) installer and end-customer segments in Germany. EuPD Research has developed a scoring model that ranks the Top 30 PV module manufacturers and Top 10 PV inverter manufacturers in the German market, according to existing data regarding the opinions of installers and end-customers. The first aim is to offer the top PV manufacturers in Germany, Italy and France the possibility to differentiate themselves from the mass of manufacturers in their markets. By using the “EuPD Research PV-Seal” as a marketing tool, manufacturers carrying the seal can position their company as being awarded “Top-Brand” by a neutral market research company. Secondly, the seal gives installers and end-customers the confidence of buying a PV brand with reliable products that have been verified by other installers and end-customers.
Methodology of the EuPD Research PV-Seal
Existing data were newly evaluated, according to the criteria of the EuPD Research PV-Seal. The number of end-customers and installers analyzed for the PV seal guaranties a significant result (Germany: end-customers n=1,006, installers n=364; Italy: end-customers n=500, installers n=203; France: end-customers n=500, in-stallers n=114). Furthermore, only open ended questions are used for the analysis. Thus, the seals are based on unaided data delivered by both local installers and end customers.
EuPD Research has developed five topic-groups, taken into account for the scoring model:
End-customer: Unaided brand recognition (1) and unaided brand awareness concerning advertising (2). Installer: Unaided brand recognition (3); distribution of a brand (4); installer’s and end customer’s choice (5).
In order to weigh the specific perceptions of installers and end-customers, and also the relevance of individual aspects, EuPD Research included three weighting stages in the evaluation process of the seal:
Methodology at a glance
The first weighting stage takes place with the evaluation of the primary data (before putting the data into the scoring model). End-customers are weighted according to their relation to PV. The opinion of PV-system owners, or those who are currently planning to buy a PV system, are given higher importance than the opinion of end-customers who are not interested in PV. Installers are weighted according to the installed quantity of kWp. The more kWp were installed, the higher the influence of an installer.
The second weighting stage takes place within the five topic-groups, described above. Individual aspects within the group are assigned a specific weight. According to the relevance of the aspect, the weight is higher or lower. All aspects and their specific weights are compiled to form the value for the topic-group.
Finally, the third weighting stage gives specific weights between the five aspect-groups. Similar to the procedure within the aspect-groups, all five groups receive an individual weight, which then influences the total score of the participating PV module manufacturers.
The weightings are defined before entering the individual company data. Experienced analysts of EuPD Research have defined the weightings of the relevant aspects and aspect-groups to ensure a representative result.
All companies were evaluated with the same scoring model and the same underlying weighting factors, to guarantee comparable results as well as the neutrality of EuPD Research as a market researcher.
