Appliance Efficiency Standards Research Articles

Why do consumers purchase energy-efficient kitchen appliance? An analysis based on online review comments.

Kitchen appliances constitute a significant portion of residential energy consumption. Promoting consumer purchases of high-energy-efficient kitchen appliances can effectively facilitate the transition to a low-carbon society. However, the role of energy saving in the current purchasing behavior of Chinese consumers regarding kitchen appliances remains unclear. Based on user-generated content from online e-commerce platforms (N=59,908), this study investigates whether Chinese consumers consider energy efficiency and its influencing factors when purchasing kitchen appliances through natural language processing and structural equation modeling techniques. The study findings reveal that: (1): Perceived energy saving is an important consideration for consumers to adopt kitchen appliances. (2): Prices benefits increase consumers' willingness to purchase energy-efficient appliances. (3): Consumers prioritize energy saving in the purchase of large kitchen appliances. (4): the effect of perceived energy saving on intention to purchase kitchen appliances is much stronger among high energy-efficient appliances. The results of this study propose specific policy recommendations to ensure the continuity of current demand-side energy efficiency policies related to kitchen appliances, utilize pricing mechanisms to incentivize consumers to purchase high-energy-efficient appliances, emphasize the importance of energy consumption of different types of kitchen appliance in environmental education, and establish stricter energy efficiency standards for kitchen appliances.

Federal Climate Policy Successes: Co-benefits, Business Acceptance, and Partisan Politics

AbstractWhile most literature on federal climate change policies has focused on failures to adopt broad policies, this article describes and explains successes in two important sectors. Regulations to improve the fuel economy of motor vehicles and efficiency standards for appliances and equipment have produced substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, although they largely have other goals and hence can be considered implicit climate policies. We synthesize the existing literature with our analyses of case studies to offer three explanations for the adoption of effective policies in these two sectors. First, the policies delivered politically popular co-benefits, such as reducing consumers’ energy bills, enhancing energy security, and promoting public health. Second, they gained business acceptance because they were narrow in their scope, avoided long-term economic costs, and helped industry cope with state-level regulations; industry often strategically tried to influence these policies rather than resist them. Third, the legislation that initiated and expanded these policies received bipartisan support, which was aided by co-benefits and business acceptance; more recently, these laws have been strengthened through the actions of Democratic administrations. We conclude by comparing these policy areas to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Impact of demand growth on decarbonizing India's electricity sector and the role for energy storage

Global energy sector decarbonization efforts are contingent on technology choices for energy production and end-use in emerging markets such as India, where air conditioning (AC) is expected to be a major driver for electricity demand growth. Here, we assess the impact of demand and supply side-drivers on the long-term evolution of the electricity sector in India under various technology and policy scenarios. Our analysis is based on developing: (a) multiple demand scenarios produced from a bottom-up forecasting model with high temporal resolution that capture structural changes in electricity consumption resulting from (AC) and electric vehicle (EV) adoption, and (b) a multi-period power system capacity expansion model with high temporal resolution of grid operations to model supply-side evolution in response to changes in demand and technology and policy factors. Such a framework allows us to, for example, quantify the impacts of improving appliance efficiency standards for AC systems or shifts in EV charging patterns on power system decarbonization prospects. Under projected renewables and Li-ion storage cost declines, our modeling points to solar and wind generation contributing substantially (46–67%) to meet annual electricity demand in India by 2030. However, without appropriate policy measures to phase out existing coal generation, even such rapid adoption of variable renewable energy coupled with one or more technological levers such as low-cost energy storage and demand-side measures such as setting aggressive AC efficiency standards and deploying distribution level storage, are insufficient to reduce annual CO2 emissions in 2050 vs. 2020 because of the relatively higher growth rate of projected electricity demand over this period. This suggests that deep decarbonization of India's power sector will require policy measures beyond efforts related to accelerating renewables deployment.

Did the energy efficiency upgrades for air conditioners reduce residential electricity consumption? Evidence from China

Energy efficiency standards for household appliances have been adopted in many countries to mitigate negative externalities, reduce emissions, and save energy. Using Chinese provincial-level panel data from 2008 to 2018, this paper builds a difference-in-difference model to examine the mechanism by which energy-efficiency upgrades in China’s air conditioners affect urban household electricity usage. The results show that the upgrades have brought about an obvious reverse effect, with urban household electricity usage increasing rather than decreasing. Reducing the unit costs of energy service has enhanced residents’ sensitivity to cooling demand. Driven by the substitution and income effects, urban residents may increase the intensity and frequency of their AC use. Additionally, this reverse effect is heterogeneously dependent on the family size and urban residents’ age structure rather than their educational level. When families are larger and have more children, the reverse effect is more pronounced. This paper’s findings provide useful recommendations for policy-makers to formulate policies that are synergistic with energy efficiency standards for household appliances.

Investigation on household energy consumption of urban residential buildings in major cities of Indonesia during COVID-19 pandemic

The implementation of the movement control order (MCO) to curb the spread of the 2019 novel corona virus disease (COVID-19) have influenced household energy consumption patterns around the world. This study aims to investigate household energy consumption of urban residential buildings in major cities of Indonesia during COVID-19 pandemic. Three representative major cities of Indonesia were selected to investigate detailed information about household appliances and gas consumption through face-to-face interviews in 2021 (n = 311). The factors affecting household energy consumption were investigated by multiple regression analysis. The results showed that, overall, the average annual energy consumption of all samples during pandemic was approximately 23.5 GJ, 3.0 GJ larger than before pandemic. The difference was primarily attributed to the use of air conditioning and cooking. The statistical analysis clearly indicated that the increase in household income (low-to high-cost houses), which would increase household size and number of appliances including air conditioning, thus increased total household energy consumption. We recommended the following potential energy-saving strategies for urban houses in Indonesia: (a) control the number of family members, (b) use more energy efficiency standards for electrical appliances and (c) encourage energy-saving lifestyles, particularly to younger adults by adopting passive cooling techniques (window opening) whereever possible.

Focusing and improving traditional energy efficiency strategies

Energy efficiency can get us about half of the way to long-term climate goals. Traditional energy efficiency strategies — vehicle and appliance efficiency standards, building energy codes, utility energy efficiency programs and Energy Star — can provide about half the achievable efficiency savings (i.e., savings of about one-quarter of projected 2050 energy use). However, these strategies can benefit from a variety of improvements, and other programs and policies addressing buildings, transportation and industry can achieve substantial additional savings. These efficiency policies can be combined with strategies involving no- and low-carbon energy sources to put the United States on a trajectory toward meeting long-term energy and climate targets.

Impact of Deregulation on Residential Electricity Consumption in Nigeria: 1980-2017

This study is an assessment of the impact of deregulation of the electricity market on the residential consumption of electricity in Nigeria from 1980 to 2017.Among the specific objectives set for the study are to examine the impact of deregulation on residential demand for electricity in Nigeria and to investigate if the residential demand for electricity in Nigeria responds to change in tariff (pricing)regime; Annual time series data on residential electricity consumption (REC), electricity tariff (ETA); income (ICM) and deregulation (a dummy variable) were collected from national electricity regulation council (NERC) and central bank of Nigeria (CBN) respectively and were analyzed using augmented dickey-fuller (ADF) and Philip-peron (PP) unit root test, co-integration test and vector error correction model (VECM),the result of the analysis shows the long run relation among the variables and the estimated long run elasticity values are:0.25 on income GDP and electricity price was -0.431 on the coefficient of deregulation (dummy) has negative sign and statistically significant suggesting that deregulation leads to a slight decline in electricity consumption. It is therefore recommended that, sustainable development of the electricity power industry should be ensured. Higher energy efficiency standards for electricity appliances, organized appropriate pricing policy and introduction of enlightenment campaign to educate people to be efficient in using electricity.

Energy sufficiency policy for residential electricity use and per-capita dwelling size

Energy sufficiency has recently gained increasing attention as a way to limit and reduce total energy consumption of households and overall. This paper presents both the partly new methods and the results of a comprehensive analysis of a micro- and meso-level energy sufficiency policy package to make electricity use in the home more sufficient and reduce at least the growth in per-capita dwelling size. The objective is to find out how policy can support households and their members, as individuals or as caregivers, but also manufacturers and local authorities in practicing energy sufficiency. This analysis needed an adapted and partly new set of methods we developed. Energy sufficiency does not only face barriers like energy efficiency, but also potential restrictions for certain household members or characteristics, and sometimes, preconditions have to be met to make more energy-sufficient routines and practices possible. All of this was analysed in detail to derive recommendations for which policy instruments need to be combined to an effective policy package for energy sufficiency. Energy efficiency and energy sufficiency should not be seen as opposed to each other but work in the same direction—saving energy. Therefore, some energy sufficiency policy instruments may be the same as for energy efficiency, such as energy pricing policies. Some may simply adapt technology-specific energy efficiency policy instruments. Examples include progressive appliance efficiency standards, standards based on absolute consumption, or providing energy advice. However, sufficiency may also require new policy approaches. They may range from promotion of completely different services for food and clothes cleaning, to instruments for limiting average dwelling floor area per person, or to a cap-and-trade system for the total electricity sales of a supplier to its customers, instead of an energy efficiency obligation.

An examination of losses in energy savings after the Japanese Top Runner Program?

Many countries have introduced various policies to improve the energy efficiency of home appliances. Japan introduced the Top Runner Program in 1998 to set efficiency standards for major home appliances. Although the energy efficiency of home appliances significantly improved after the implementation of the program, household electricity consumption has also increased. Using micro-level data from the National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure, we conduct conditional demand analysis to show how energy savings have been lost after the Top Runner Program. We find that households began spending more electricity on space cooling and food preservation after the implementation of the program. Although electricity consumption per air conditioner (AC) has decreased, the number of ACs per household has increased. Conversely, electricity consumption per refrigerator (REF) has increased because households have started buying bigger REFs. The energy savings obtained by the Top Runner Program was lost by the size and stock increases of home appliances. If a household increases the size and stock of home appliances, then it will not be possible to reduce the household electricity consumption by simply improving the energy efficiency of appliances.

Not Waiting for Washington: Climate Policy Adoption in California and New York

THE UNITED STATES’ FEDERAL CLIMATE change mitigation policies are widely seen as weak and ineffective, especially in cross-national comparison.1 Before the Barack Obama administration, these policies were limited mainly to voluntary measures and were not guided by overall emissions reduction targets. Partly as a result, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased 10.4 percent from 1990 to 2010.2 In the absence of strong national action, many state governments adopted climate policies beginning in the early 2000s. The main policies include greenhouse gas emissions targets and climate action plans; support for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy development; energy efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions standards for vehicles, appliances, buildings, and power plants; and mandatory cap-and-trade systems for greenhouse gases.3 The governments of about a dozen states, clustered in the Northeast and on the West Coast, have adopted relatively strong climate policies. That is, they have ambitious goals, have pursued a very wide range of policies, started policymaking earlier than other states, and have made reasonable progress in implementation.4

Static analysis of technical and economic energy-saving potential in the residential sector of Xiamen city

Abstract Based on a household energy use survey, this paper explores the technical and economic potential of residential energy savings in a Chinese city, Xiamen. The survey adopted a similar questionnaire used by the U.S. EIA's Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), covering the end-uses of cooking, water heating, plug-in appliances, lighting and space cooling. The analysis shows that the technical potential of energy savings in Xiamen's residential buildings is significant, around 20%. Of the technical potential, about two-thirds to four-fifths are cost-effective from a whole society perspective. The cost-effectiveness was evaluated by comparing the Levelised Cost of Conserved Energy (LCOCE) of advanced technical measures with the actual cost of conserved energy. The actual cost of energy is defined by adding the carbon emission cost and hidden government subsidies over the retail prices of energy. About three-quarters of the technical energy-saving potential in Xiamen come from adopting efficient household appliances, therefore, further tightening the energy efficiency standards for key household appliances and promoting wide diffusion of efficient models of appliances by various effective financial incentives are essential for achieving residential energy savings in China's “Hot Summer and Warm Winter” region where Xiamen locates.

The Relationship between Residential Electricity Consumption and Income: A Piecewise Linear Model with Panel Data

There are many uncertainties and risks in residential electricity consumption associated with economic development. Knowledge of the relationship between residential electricity consumption and its key determinant—income—is important to the sustainable development of the electric power industry. Using panel data from 30 provinces for the 1995–2012 period, this study investigates how residential electricity consumption changes as incomes increase in China. Previous studies typically used linear or quadratic double-logarithmic models imposing ex ante restrictions on the indistinct relationship between residential electricity consumption and income. Contrary to those models, we employed a reduced piecewise linear model that is self-adaptive and highly flexible and circumvents the problem of “prior restrictions”. Robust tests of different segment specifications and regression methods are performed to ensure the validity of the research. The results provide strong evidence that the income elasticity was approximately one, and it remained stable throughout the estimation period. The income threshold at which residential electricity consumption automatically remains stable or slows has not been reached. To ensure the sustainable development of the electric power industry, introducing higher energy efficiency standards for electrical appliances and improving income levels are vital. Government should also emphasize electricity conservation in the industrial sector rather than in residential sector.

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for Appliances: Old and New Economic Rationales

Author(s): Houde, Sebastien; Spurlock, C. Anna | Abstract: We revisit Hausman and Joskow (1982)'s economic rationales for appliance minimum energy efficiency standards. In addition to the four market failures they argued could justify appliance standards--energy prices below marginal social cost, consumers underestimating energy prices, consumer discount rates above social discount rates, or principal agent problems--we discuss two additional market failures that are relevant and potentially economically important in this context: market power and innovation market failures. We highlight puzzles uncovered by recent empirical results, and suggest directions future research should take to better understand the normative implications of appliance standards.

THE LIMITS OF IRRATIONALITY AS A RATIONALE FOR REGULATION

THE LIMITS OF IRRATIONALITY AS A RATIONALE FOR REGULATION

California energy efficiency: Lessons for the rest of the world, or not?

Since the 1970s California's residential electricity consumption per capita has stopped increasing while other states’ electricity use continued to grow steadily. What accounts for California's apparent savings? Some credit the strict energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances enacted by California in the mid-1970s. They argue that the growing gap between California and other states demonstrates that other states and countries could replicate California's gains by adopting California-style regulations, and that California should build on its own success by tightening its standards further. Skeptics might point to three long-run trends that differentiate California's electricity demand from other states: (1) shifting of the U.S. population toward warmer climates of the South and West; (2) relatively small income elasticity of energy demand in California's temperate climate; and (3) evolving differences between the demographics of households in California and other states. Today, differences in climate and demographics account for almost 90 percent of the difference between California's and other states’ residential electricity use. That difference thus provides no lessons for other states or countries considering adopting or tightening their own energy efficiency standards.

Refrigerator standards and their impact on United States society

This paper addresses criticisms of US Federal appliance efficiency standards and whether or how the imposition of efficiency standards on household refrigerators and freezers in the US affects prices, supply, and various other attributes. The study is based on historical data about changes in standards for household refrigerators along with data about the size, styles, energy consumption, reductions in emissions, and the costs of refrigerators from 1940 to the present. Changes in standards are alleged to disrupt markets, which left to their own devices would optimise cost, efficiency, consumer choice, and reliability. This paper shows that standards have contributed to an overall reduction in unit energy consumption and CO2 emissions at the aggregate level and have reduced household costs for energy in constant 2011 US dollars. The data disprove critics' arguments of that standards who charge that the imposition of federal energy efficiency standards increase the cost of equipment for end users and limit availability.

Energy efficiency standards for refrigerators in Brazil: A methodology for impact evaluation

In Brazil energy efficiency standards for cold appliances was established in 2007. A specified single set of MEPS (minimum energy performance standards) for refrigerators, freezers and freezer refrigerators was implemented without evaluating its impacts and estimation of potential electricity savings. This paper presents a methodology for assessing the impacts of the Brazilian MEPS for cold appliances. It uses a bottom-up approach to estimate residential end-use consumption and to evaluate the energy saving potential for refrigerators. The household electricity consumption is projected by modeling appliance ownership using an econometric approach based on the recent household survey data. A cost–benefit analysis for more stringent standards is presented from the perspective of the society and electricity customers. The results showed that even considering the current market conditions (high discount rate for financing new efficient equipment) some MEPS options are advantageous for customers. The analysis also demonstrates significant cost-effective saving potential from the society perspective that could reach 21 TWh throughout the period of 2010–2030—about 25% of current residential consumption.

Securing energy efficiency as a high priority: scenarios for common appliance electricity consumption in Thailand

Between 1995 and 2008, Thailand’s energy efficiency programs produced an estimated total of 8,369 GWh/year energy savings and 1,471 MW avoided peak power. Despite these impressive saving figures, relatively little future scenario analysis is available to policy makers. Before the 2008 global financial crisis, electricity planners forecasted 5–6% long-term increases in demand. We explored options for efficiency improvements in Thailand’s residential sector, which consumes more than 20% of Thailand’s total electricity consumption of 150 TWh/year. We constructed baseline and efficient scenarios for the period 2006–2026, for air conditioners, refrigerators, fans, rice cookers, and compact fluorescent light bulbs. We drew on an appliance database maintained by Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand’s voluntary labeling program. For the five appliances modeled, the efficiency scenario results in total savings of 12% of baseline consumption after 10 years and 29% of baseline after 20 years. Approximately 80% of savings come from more stringent standards for air conditioners, including phasing out unregulated air conditioner sales within 6 years. Shifting appliance efficiency standards to current best-in-market levels within 6 years produces additional savings. We discuss institutional aspects of energy planning in Thailand that thus far have limited the consideration of energy efficiency as a high-priority resource.

The Role of Emission Trading in Domestic Climate Policy

This paper focuses on two specific issues in the design of a domestic cap and trade program for GHGs - whether the cap should be located upstream or downstream, and whether trading alone will suffice to achieve the desired reduction in GHGs or will need to be supplemented with additional regulatory measures. The paper argues for a downstream cap accompanied by measures such as a renewable portfolio standard, efficiency standards for vehicles, appliances and buildings, and a low carbon fuel standard. For this argument, it is necessary to address both the theory and the empirical evidence of emission trading. After reviewing the theory, the paper examines the actual experience in the U.S. with emission trading for SO2, to see whether the assumptions used in the theory actually applied in practice. What actually happened deviated in several important respects from what was supposed to happen according to the conventional theorizing. The design of a cap and trade program for GHG is then discussed, first considering the similarities between the past regulation of air pollutants and the challenge posed by GHGs, and then making the case for a downstream cap and complementary policies.

가정용 에어컨 효율기준 강화에 따른 CO2산정연구

빠른 경제 성장과 더불어 에어컨과 같은 냉방기기의 사용이 지난 십년간 급격히 점점 증가하고 있다. 이에 따른 에너지 소비가 증가하고 있다. 정부는 에너지 소비를 줄이기 위해 주요 가전기기에 최저효율제를 시행하고 있다. 최저효율제를 시행하고 있는 에어컨은 우리가 많이 사용하는 가전기기중 하나로 효율기준 강화를 통해 에너지 절약효과 뿐만 아니라 환경적인 효과도 기대할 수 있다. 본 논문에서는 여름철 전력사용의 가장 큰 부분을 차지하고 있는 냉장고의 효율향상에 따른 CO₂ 발생량을 계산하는 실질적인 분석절차를 제안하고자 한다.