Why don’t households see the light?: Explaining the diffusion of compact fluorescent lamps

Abstract

Starting in 2009 the EU ban on the sale of incandescent bulbs will force households to purchase energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). The impact of the ban on consumers will depend on the nature of current barriers to the use of CFLs. This paper employs a Double-Hurdle model to identify distinct barriers to household consideration of CFLs and to the subsequent intensity of adoption using a large survey of German households. Barriers to CFL consideration are found to be low for all households, except those with very low incomes. Barriers to CFL consideration are, however, strongly linked to the residential characteristics of low-income households like small size and to the lack of household knowledge of energy consumption. CFLs use will increase after the ban mainly through a rise in the intensity of adoption. But the ban will be costly to consumers because the range of applications where households chose to employ CFLs is limited, particularly for high income households.