ABSTRACT
The introduction of a new technology entails a complex of innovations rather than a single technical innovation. Some of these are of an organizational and socio-political character, for instance changing certain administrative rules and procedures or reformulating government policies. The role of government in technology development should be viewed in its larger context, the complex restructuring which the introduction of a new technology and the development of new socio-technical systems entails. The norms used by engineers and architects to calculate the size requirements for heating systems can lead to over-dimensioned, hence non-optimally operating heat pumps. Changes in building codes and ordinances are often major determinants of the ease with which new energy systems spread, or are prevented from effectively spreading. Building code adaptations may have to be made far ahead of the actual market introduction of new energy equipment, for instance, solar energy systems.
