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Achievements of Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards and Labelling Programs

Achievements of Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards and Labelling Programs

Authors:

Robert Foster, Mark Ellis, Kevin Lane and Lloyd Harrington

Organisation of Presenter:

Energy Efficient Strategies, Australia

Abstract:

Since the late 1970s, a range of Energy Efficiency Standards and Labelling (EES&L) programs have been adopted by more than 80 countries and now cover more than 50 different product types. This research, commissioned by the IEA, identifies the achievements of EESL programs, which have been among the most broadly adopted and longest running energy efficiency policies.
The analysis involved an extensive international review of published reports and conference papers (over 100 reports from more than 20 countries, covering more than 25 product types) and the reported impacts, with a focus on ex post evaluations.
Key findings include:
  • Efficiency improvements: Found to be around 4% p.a. for products such as whitegoods, compared to an underlying autonomous rate of approximately 1% p.a. without EES&L.
  • Energy, operational cost and greenhouse gas savings: Efficiency improvements have translated into massive national savings in energy, energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Benefits versus costs: For EES&L programs these were found to typically exceed a ratio of 3:1
  • Purchase price: For products subjected to EES&L programs, purchase price was found to be generally declining in real terms with little or no impact from regulation. In fact, there was some evidence that prices can fall faster after the implementation of MEPS.
  • Innovation, industry leveraging and employment benefits: Market expansion on the back of innovation and the diversion of capital away from the energy supply sector was found to lead to enhanced employment outcomes leading to the creation of millions of jobs worldwide.
  • Other co-benefits: There were a plethora of other “co-benefits” that were identified as flowing from EES&L programs including; poverty alleviation, improved affordability and access to energy, health and well-being impacts, energy provider and infrastructure benefits, energy security, improved air quality, moderating of energy prices, improvements in natural resource management and the achievement of development goals.