Is durable environmentally sustainable? The durability of refrigerators assessed with energy mix varying towards energy transition

Abstract

Sustainability and durability are not always synonyms when related to Energy Related Products. Europe has set goals to reduce the environmental impact due to the production of electricity. This paper accomplishes needs to investigate whether using a durable product for many years is more convenient, from an environmental perspective, than substituting the good with a new one. It assesses the environmental sustainability of durable products, taking the case of two single-door freestanding refrigerators used in Europe. In doing so the change in the composition of sources used in the production of electricity is considered. This is then compared with durability results, assuming the yearly energy consumption to be stable over time. The results highlight that introducing additional parameters that describe more accurately the real case can help in drafting a more precise description of reality, even though makes the use of full indexes mandatory. Water use and Mineral Resource Scarcity indicators there are clear trends, whose common thread is the use of simplified or extended durability index formula. The reduction of fossils and the decreased impact related to the consumption of energy make the weight of production and disposal phases heavier in the lifecycle impact distribution and increase the positive contribution of the durability index (Pn + En). For Global Warming Potential impact category (for which use phase retains at least 80% of the environmental impacts) there isn't any clear trend: it urges to describe energy grid mix variations or other factors according to realistic parameters. Future works should consider the consequences of the energy mix due to the geopolitical criticalities Europe is facing and introduce additional parameters that describe how the product performance change over time.