Major Household Appliances Research Articles

The relationship between shipping freight rates and inflation in the Euro Area

Consumer inflation across the globe has rebounded during 2021, also as a result of supply side disruptions, one of which is the increase in freight costs. To elaborate on the relationship between inflation and shipping costs, we employ a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) and use disaggregated monthly data from January 2009 to August 2021, using both constant tax and the standard price indices. Following a shock in freight rates, the most hard-hit sectors appear to be garments and major household appliances, items that have traditionally been manufactured outside the euro area. In addition, using a threshold regression methodology we show that when freight rates rise more than $1300-$1500 per day, the sensitivity of inflation to freight changes increases.

Optimal Planning of Residential Energy Hubs Considering Customer Desire Function

This paper proposes an optimal residential energy hub (REH) design framework where the desired tradeoff between maximizing the satisfaction level of residential user energy usage and minimizing the overall costs is obtained by establishing a customer desire function (CDF). Considering the major household appliances, the REH demands are categorized into several groups, and CDFs are formulated and applied to each group of loads. The developed mathematical model results in a mixed-integer linear programming optimization problem. Simulations were carried out on a residential building as a case study. Numerical results confirmed the presented framework effectiveness in improving the end-user convenience level and enhancing the investment benefits. They also demonstrated the significance of various energy networks and the optimal configuration of REH components on the financial and technical of the REH.

Improved Copper Circularity as a Result of Increased Material Efficiency in the U.S. Housing Stock.

Material efficiency (ME) can support rapid climate change mitigation and circular economy. Here, we comprehensively assess the circularity of ME strategies for copper use in the U.S. housing services (including residential buildings and major household appliances) by integrating use-phase material and energy demand. Although the ME strategies of more intensive floor space use and extended lifetime of appliances and buildings reduce the primary copper demand, employing these strategies increases the commonly neglected use-phase share of total copper requirements during the century from 23–28 to 22–42%. Use-phase copper requirements for home improvements have remained larger than the demand gap (copper demand minus scrap availability) for much of the century, limiting copper circularity in the U.S. housing services. Further, use-phase energy consumption can negate the benefits of ME strategies. For instance, the lifetime extension of lower-efficiency refrigerators increases the copper use and net environmental impact by increased electricity use despite reductions from less production. This suggests a need for more attention to the use phase when assessing circularity, especially for products that are material and energy intensive during use. To avoid burden shifting, policymakers should consider the entire life cycle of products supporting services when pursuing circular economy goals.

Reanalysis of occupant experiment in ZEB Living Lab

In 2015-2016, a six-month long experiment was carried out in the ZEB Living Lab, one of the first houses in Norway planned to reach net zero emission throughout its lifetime. By means of qualitative experiments, social scientists evaluated how six groups of occupants impacted the zero emission building, and how the zero emission building impacted its occupants in different ways. Data were collected through direct observation, diaries and interviews before, during and after the stay. In this paper, we take a closer look at the sensor data from the detailed monitoring system, generated during each group’s 25-day long residing’s. We find that despite the experiment being a controlled environment with many shared household characteristics, occupancy is determined by diverse factors, and the users’ preferences and attitudes influence energy consumption. All major household appliances were the same, but the time of use, frequency, duration and type of use differed. The study contributes to increasing understanding of user behaviour and energy use in low energy houses. Providing occupancy profiles is valuable, in light of the increasing amount of local renewable energy production. These datasets can be used as input in energy simulation and planning of zero-emission neighbourhoods.

Mathematical Modelling Based Demand Response Analysis of Major Household Appliances

This paper discusses the power consumption profile and demand response potential of home appliances in India. It includes WH (water heater), HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system, cloth dryer, washing machine and critical appliances. Mathematical module of these appliances have been developed. Simulation results show that the water heater has highest demand response potential followed by cloth dryer, HVAC, and washing machine. Consumer life style and comfort is affected if DR (Demand Response) is applied in critical appliances. This paper provides an insight that how much DR can be performed for residential consumers.

Do energy efficiency standards hurt consumers? Evidence from household appliance sales

We build novel welfare-based price indices for major household appliances that leverage changes in same-model prices and how consumers substitute between exiting, continuing and new models. We then evaluate how minimum energy efficiency requirements and changing criteria for Energy Star™ labels affected these indices in the U.S. between 2001 and 2011, a period of time when some appliances experienced standard changes while others did not. We find that prices declined while quality and consumer welfare increased, especially when standards become more stringent. We also find that much of the price index decline can be attributed to standards-induced innovation, or cannibalism, not to inter-manufacturer competition. Our results also add to a growing body of evidence that the Consumer Price Index exaggerates inflation due to inadequate account of quality and substitution to new goods.

Obsolescence of Large Household Appliances in Germany

AbstractEven though the duration of usage of large household appliances is found to be an average of 13 years in Germany, the data also shows that the proportion of large household devices which are already defective within the first five years has increased in the last decade. Material, functional, psychological and economic obsolescence are defined and discussed to explain this behaviour. The aim of this study is to identify consumer behaviour and motivation in the use and disposal of two major household appliances. Furthermore, whether the devices were disposed for reasons of economy, functionality or defect will be determined. A survey of 1,972 respondents was run online and on paper to collect quantitative data about consumer behaviour regarding the disposal of household appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers throughout their lifecycle in Germany. The data gathered will help to clarify if there is a connection between the disposal principle and the device price category and age. It was found that the main reason for disposal of a device is a defect, which is mostly not repaired because of additional costs which might be higher compared to a new purchase when the lifecycle is considered.

Electric vehicles for improving resilience of distribution systems

In this study, improving the resilience of residential customers through employing Electric Vehicles (EV) is investigated. This solution is especially effective in case of unavailability of distribution systems for a considerable amount of time. An example of this situation is the aftermath of a hurricane when existing grid infrastructure may be fully or partially disabled. In this paper, specific attention is paid to hybrid electric vehicles, as their gasoline can be used as a sufficient source of energy during such conditions. In order to have a fair comparison, selected models of both hybrid and non-hybrid electric vehicles are considered. Moreover, based on available data from reliable literature, this paper has generated different load profiles for various consumption scenarios to model the severity of conditions and estimate the required energy. Moreover, two seasonal conditions are considered and the load profiles are developed based on characteristic curves of major household appliances, instead of their rated powers. Then, the selected electric vehicles are considered as the main power supply and the available serving time of each electric vehicle is computed. Results show that a typical hybrid electric vehicle can supply power to residential units for a reasonable amount of time during a power outage.

An Advanced Home Energy Management System Facilitated by Nonintrusive Load Monitoring With Automated Multiobjective Power Scheduling

Nowadays, electricity energy demands requested from down-stream sectors in a smart grid constantly increase. One way to meet those demands is use of home energy management systems (HEMS). By effectively scheduling major household appliances in response to demand response (DR) schemes, residents can save their electricity bills. In this paper, an advanced HEMS facilitated by a nonintrusive load monitoring (NILM) technique with an automated nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II)-based multiobjective in-home power scheduling mechanism is proposed. The NILM as an electricity audit is able to nonintrusively estimate power consumed by each of monitored major household appliances at a certain period of time. Data identified by the NILM are very useful for DR implementation. For DR implementation, the NSGA-II-based multiobjective in-home power scheduling mechanism autonomously and meta-heuristically schedules monitored and enrolled major household appliances without user intervention. It is based on an analysis of the NILM with historical data with past trends. The experimental results reported in this paper reveal that the proposed advanced HEMS with the NILM assessed in a real-house environment with uncertainties is workable and feasible.

Rural Households' perception of solar energy as an alternative source of household electrical energy in Oyo State, Nigeria

Electrical energy is important for sustainable livelihood within rural households of Nigeria. Inconsistent and lack of electricity supply from the national grid is problematic. This study investigated rural households’ perception of solar energy as an alternative source of electrical energy in Oyo State. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 130 rural households. Data were collected using structured interview schedule and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Majority (68.8%) of the respondents were male and 66.7% earned less than N20,000 in a month . Majority (67.2%) were connected to the national electricity grid (PHCN) with average electricity supply of 4 hours in 3 days per week. Most households spent N13,163.40 per month in fuelling their generators. The major household appliances respondents were willing to power with solar energy were light bulbs (95.2%), television (92.0%), charging of phone (87.2%), standing fan (66.4%), rechargeable lamp (60.0%), radio (55.2%), and DVD (52.9%) for 6-12 hours per day. Majority (52.8%) had an unfavourable perception towards use of solar energy as an alternative source of household electrical energy. There were significant relationships between respondents’ monthly income (r=0.269, p=0.002), religion ( =0.244, p=0.019), education ( =0.238, p=0.050) and perception toward the use of solar energy as an alternative source of household electrical energy. It was concluded that the respondents in the study area had an unfavourable perception towards solar energy as an alternative source of household electrical energy, therefore, rural households’ should be enlightened about solar energy. Keywords : Solar energy, Alternative energy sources, perception, rural households

Optimal electrical and thermal energy management of a residential energy hub, integrating demand response and energy storage system

Energy crisis along with environmental concerns are some principal motivations for introducing “energy hubs” by integrating energy production, conversion and storage technologies such as combined cooling, heating and power systems (CCHPs), renewable energy resources (RESs), batteries and thermal energy storages (TESs). In this paper, a residential energy hub model is proposed which receives electricity, natural gas and solar radiation at its input port to supply required electrical, heating and cooling demands at the output port. Augmenting the operational flexibility of the proposed hub in supplying the required demands, an inclusive demand response (DR) program including load shifting, load curtailing and flexible thermal load modeling is employed. A thermal and electrical energy management is developed to optimally schedule major household appliances, production and storage components (i.e. CCHP unit, PHEV and TES). For this purpose, an optimization problem has been formulated and solved for three different case studies with objective function of minimizing total energy cost while considering customer preferences in terms of desired hot water and air temperature. Additionally, a multi-objective optimization is conducted to consider consumer's contribution to CO2, NOx and SOx emissions. The results indicate the impact of incorporating DR program, smart PHEV management and TES on energy cost reduction of proposed energy hub model.

Appliance daily energy use in new residential buildings: Use profiles and variation in time-of-use

One of the largest user of electricity in the average U.S. household is appliances, which when aggregated, account for approximately 30% of electricity used in the residential building sector. As influencing the time-of-use of energy becomes increasingly important to control the stress on today's electrical grid infrastructure, understanding when appliances use energy and what causes variation in their use are of great importance. However, there is limited appliance-specific data available to understand their use patterns. This study provides daily energy use profiles of four major household appliances: refrigerator, clothes washer, clothes dryer, and dishwasher, through analyzing disaggregated energy use data collected for 40 single family homes in Austin, TX. The results show that when compared to those assumed in current energy simulation software for residential buildings, the averaged appliance load profiles have similar daily distributions. Refrigerators showed the most constant and consistent use. However, the three user-dependent appliances, appliances which depend on users to initiate use, varied more greatly between houses and by time-of-day. During peak use times, on weekends, and in homes with household members working at home, the daily use profiles of appliances were less consistent.

Consumers’ preferences for eco‐friendly appliances in an emerging market context

AbstractAt present, the South African (SA) energy supply per person surpasses that of several developing countries in the world notwithstanding the energy crisis in the country and the evidence that SA produces among the highest greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) in the world. The problem is aggravated by an increased demand for major household appliances in recent years, contributing to an overextension of existing capacity and perpetual power failures. Increasing consumption patterns in the rapidly expanding economy of South Africa require intentional efforts to promote more sustainable product choices e.g. an understanding of the relevance of environmental attributes in consumers’ evaluation of product alternatives to ensure lasting environmental implications. Using Sawtooth conjoint software, trade‐off tasks were included in a cross‐sectional survey involving 648 households in Tshwane, South Africa to assess the relative importance of various environmental attributes in relation to other product features (e.g. brand and price) of washing machines. Aggregate results reveal that consumers across various age, income and educational levels prioritize brand and price, despite the long‐term financial and environmental repurcussions of product features that impact on the use of natural resources. Four consumer segments were identified through cluster analysis that differ in terms of preference structures, which offer valuable insight for the development of intervention strategies and marketing campaigns. The findings underline current literature, namely that ‘green’ product offerings must also perform competitively in terms of non‐environmental attributes. Future studies should focus on a broader scope of factors, including consumers’ knowledge and awareness of the environmental impact of their product choices, to better inform marketing campaigns and intervention initiatives.

Going Beyond Tradition: Estimating Residential Electricity Demand Using an Appliance Index and Energy Services

In this paper we estimate the long- and short-run price elasticities of residential electricity consumption in Switzerland from a household survey by constructing an index of the stock of household appliances as well as by using energy services. We create the index by aggregating the information on the major household appliances. The index is used to estimate the impact of appliances on residential electricity demand. Furthermore, we also use energy services to estimate the electricity demand. We adopt an instrumental variables approach to obtain consistent estimates of the price elasticity to account for potential endogeneity concerns with the average price as well as the appliance index. Our results suggest that the price elasticity is around -0.6. We conclude that Swiss households are price inelastic in electricity prices. This can be used for policy makers as well as by utility companies to design pricing instruments to modify electricity consumption. We also find that estimates of the electricity demand when we substitute the usual residential characteristics with energy services are quite comparable.

Consumers׳ perception of the complexity of selected household purchase decisions

This study provides evidence of consumers׳ perception of the complexity of a variety of product/service decisions in terms of a complexity continuum and indicates how such categorisation is influenced by specific demographic characteristics, specifically gender, age and education level that are predominant in terms of consumer socialisation. A survey which was conducted in a major city and involved 461 respondents. The multiple section structured questionnaire were completed by willing spouses/partners of participating households. Complexity values were calculated in terms of a specific anchoring product, namely major household appliances. It became evident that the most expensive purchases that households ever make, namely purchasing a home and a car, which were perceived to be the most complex by all while grocery purchase was on the least complex divide of the continuum. Also on the more complex divide of the continuum were service related decisions such as insurance. Particularly noteworthy is the confirmation of significant differences in perceived complexity within product categories that are perceived to be the most- and the least complex by all. This confirms the vulnerability of certain segments of the consumer society and the need for concerted effort to communicate with them in appropriate media and on a level that would enhance informed consumer decision-making. Underlying reasons probably relate to consumers׳ risk perception and affordability issues that could be explored in future research. Interestingly the findings of the gender comparison shifted the focus to different product categories than those elicited in the age-, income and level of education comparisons. Findings therefore confirm the relevance of demographic characteristics in media communication and consumer facilitation as well as in research. Retailers and marketers should therefore be cognisant of the characteristics of their target markets and be very selective and cautious when identifying communication media.

Load Profiles of Selected Major Household Appliances and Their Demand Response Opportunities

Electrical power consumption data and load profiles of major household appliances are crucial elements for demand response studies. This paper discusses load profiles of selected major household appliances in the U.S., including two clothes washers, two clothes dryers, two air conditioners, an electric water heater, an electric oven, a dishwasher, and two refrigerators. Their electrical power consumption data measured in one-second intervals, together with one-minute data (averaged over 60 one-second readings), are provided in an online data repository (URL: www.ari.vt.edu/research-data/). The data were gathered from two homes in Virginia and Maryland during July-October 2012. In this paper, demand response opportunities provided by these appliances are also discussed.

Consumers’ Consideration of Functional Utility when Choosing Major Household Appliances

This research investigated consumers’ consideration of product attributes concerning their choice of major household appliances to explicate the pertinence of functional attributes versus other concerns such as environmental issues and status-bearing factors. A cross-sectional survey was performed amongst middle- to upper-income households in Tshwane, South Africa. The sample (N = 446) consisted of 69.4% females and 30.6% males who were further distinguished in terms of age, income and level of education. Exploratory factor analysis revealed consumers’ attention to seven factors, of which functionality and durability aspects seemed more prevalent. A stronger concern for functional attributes compared to status factors and environmental issues confirms a need for the provision of product information that would enhance informed buying decisions, minimize consumers’ functional risk perception and reduce negative post-purchase judgments.

Significance of environmental sustainability issues in consumers' choice of major household appliances in South Africa

AbstractAlthough not regarded as the major culprits in terms of the degradation of the world's resources, consumers in developing countries such as South Africa should be encouraged to realize their potential contribution to save our planet. This research investigated consumers' prioritization of product choice criteria in a prominent product category, i.e. major household appliances, to determine and describe how consumers could be encouraged to accept the principles of pro‐environmental product choice and consumption behaviour. The survey that was conducted in Tshwane, a major urban area in South Africa, in 2010 involved a structured questionnaire that was distributed by means of a convenient snowball method. Findings (n = 446) indicated that the majority of respondents always/mostly considered desirable functions rather than aesthetic attributes or price as important choice criteria, and that consumers would like to obtain information about the ‘greenness’ as well as the ‘functionality’ of appliances before purchasing. Consumers strongly agreed that the durability of appliances (service life) as well as running costs, i.e. electricity and water consumption, should be considered. Consumers seemed undecided about issues concerning recycling and recycling centres, the benefits of modern appliances and whether locally manufactured appliances are better than imported brands. Although different sources of information could be influential during consumers' pre‐purchase evaluation of major household appliances, consumers' reliance on personal acquaintances (friends and family) surpassed their trust in salespeople as information source by far. The majority of respondents indicated that they used printed information sources such as promotional material and brochures as information sources. Retail and industry should supply comprehensive information about pro‐environmental properties of their products. The results of this special investigation may be transferred to similar target groups in developing countries but are not typical for consumer behaviour elsewhere, whereas the methods are generally applicable.

Idiosyncratic use of credit facilities by consumers in an emerging economy

AbstractA worldwide increase in household debt since the turn of the century has created considerable concern about the indebtedness of households, especially those in emerging economies that have been hit particularly hard by the global economic slump. In this study, the credit consumption of consumers in Swaziland (N = 264) was investigated by means of a survey that aimed to identify and describe factors that encouraged consumers' use of credit, the influence of credit on their buying behaviour when choosing major household appliances or furniture as well as consumers' knowledge of the conditions of credit facilities that were available for their use in retail. Findings revealed that consumers unequivocally appreciate the convenience that is associated with credit, specifically to cope with unexpected purchases, to benefit from special offers and opportunity to afford expensive goods. These advantages apparently negate the negative consequences such as high interest rates and strain on household budgets. Mean scores that were obtained in the knowledge test that only reflected upon credit agreements that respondents have actually entered into in the past, confirmed their ignorance pertaining to their contractual obligations and their consequent vulnerability. Consumers' age and gender seem to have noteworthy consequences for efforts to enhance informed consumer decision‐making. Younger females were significantly better informed that their older counterpart while the reverse was true for males, although differences were not significant. The significant inverse relationship between income and the LS‐means for the credit knowledge test differ from findings in developed countries and provide valuable opportunity for further investigation.

Dissatisfied consumers’ complaint behaviour concerning product failure of major electrical household appliances – a conceptual framework *

Opsomming Verbruikers se ontevredenheid met produkte manifesteer in hulle klagte-gedrag. Verbruikers se klagtes word oor die algemeen in ‘n negatiewe lig beskou, aangesien dit met hulle ontevredenheid oor ‘n bepaalde produk of diens geassosieer word. Verbruikers se klagtes moet egter as voordelig vir die vervaardiger, kleinhandelaar en die verbruiker beskou word, aangesien dit onder andere dien as inligting wat deur verbruikers geinisieer is om strategiese besluitneming vir kleinhandelaars en vervaardigers te vergemaklik. Verbruikers kan op hulle beurt vir produkprobleme vergoed word en op hulle regte as verbruikers aandring. Vervaardigers en kleinhandelaars kan egter net van verbruikers se behoeftes en probleme ten opsigte van produkte bewus word wanneer verbruikers dit aan hulle kommunikeer. ‘n Konseptuele raamwerk word aangebied vir die bestudering van ontevrede verbruikers se klagte-gedrag as reaksie op die funksionele en / of simboliese produkmislukking (product failure) van groot elektriese huishoudelike toerusting. Die konfirmasie / diskonfirmasie-paradigma, Day en Landon se klagte-gedrag-taksonomie, Weiner se attribusieteorie en spesifieke verbruikers- en produkveranderlikes wat verband hou met klagte-gedrag dien as teoretiese agtergrond vir die konseptuele raamwerk.