Based on the survey data onto rural households in China, taking biogas produced by crop residues as an example, this paper analyzed rural households' perceived value of energy utilization of crop residues. Then, "interpersonal trust" and "institutional trust" variables are introduced to improve Zeithaml's perceived value model to explore the key factors influencing rural households' perceived value of energy utilization of crop residues. The results show that although the value of energy utilization of crop residues has been recognized by most rural households, there is still some room for improvement. We believe that strengthening the technical service level and creating an atmosphere of mutual trust in rural society will help to improve rural households' perceived value of energy utilization of crop residues. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of the improved perceived value model as a powerful method for better prediction of human psychological perception, and our findings have significant policy implications given that the government can take measures to improve rural households' perceived value to make energy utilization of crop residues more competitive, thus hastening its deployment. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.