Residential PV system users' perception of profitability, reliability, and failure risk: An empirical survey in a local Japanese municipality

► We examined PV users' perception of its specification, reliability, and failure risk. ► Data for analysis were collected by questionnaire survey in a Japanese local municipality. ► We revealed users did not appropriately understand the basic specifications. ► A strong causal relationship between users' expectations of financial return and their level of satisfaction was confirmed empirically.