Comparing energy performance requirements for appliances from country to country is difficult because of variations in product definitions, misaligned energy test procedures, and divergent efficiency metrics. This complex landscape can prevent policymakers from identifying or adopting global best practices in appliance energy efficiency policy.

To address this challenge, CLASP and the Policy Partners, along with many other technical product experts, collected data to compare appliance energy efficiency policies, test methods, and efficiency metrics for more than 100 products across nine economies—Australia, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and the United States.

The resulting analysis represents the largest and most comprehensive comparison of energy standards and labels ever compiled. It describes which product policies are comparable across economies; which are not; and which could be. It is intended to provide policymakers and experts with useful tools for analyzing country data at a macro-level and to enable more informed decisions about the most appropriate policies.

The results are presented in several components:

• The Policymakers’ Summary provides an overview of the analysis.
• The webinar provides additional insights from the report authors.
• The full report, Improving Global Comparability of Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards and Labels, contains the background, methodology, and high-level product specific information.
• Annex 1: Overview Table (Microsoft Excel file) contains quantitative information for all products.
• Annex 2: Product Fact Sheets contains additional product-by-product detail.

In June, CLASP hosted a session at the Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF) on two analyses geared towards assisting the China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS) to improve China’s appliance energy efficiency program. Following the presentation, CLASP’s Director of China Programs, Steven Zeng (曾磊) was quoted in a press release by China Consumer News (CCN), which was subsequently picked up by over 50 Chinese news outlets, including Xinhua News and Hexun News.

CCN’s press release focuses on the results of a forthcoming study CLASP completed in collaboration with All China Marketing Research (ACMR), which assesses how well Chinese consumers understand the China Energy Label. The study demonstrates that over 97% of consumers polled claimed to have seen the China Energy Label before. This represents an increase of more than 30% over the proportion of consumers who responded to the same question in CLASP and ACMR’s 2010 study on energy label awareness in China, indicating that awareness has increased among consumers. The study also shows that most survey respondents, about 75%, understand how the labels differentiate between efficient and inefficient products.

In CCN’s press release, Steven Zeng stated that “overall, consumer awareness of energy efficiency labeling has increased rapidly.” However, “the survey shows that consumers’ awareness varies significantly across various product categories.” Labels on products that were included in the first generation of the labeling program, such as refrigerators and air conditioners, elicited higher levels of recognition among consumers (87% to 95%) than appliances that entered the program more recently, such as computers and microwaves (10% to 23%).

Additionally, despite most consumers understanding that Tier 1 products are more efficient than Tier 3 or Tier 5 products, approximately 35% of respondents thought that the technical parameters on certain labels were too difficult to understand, such as rated heat input for water heaters or energy efficiency index (EEI) for televisions. CLASP’s China Program Senior Associate, Jayond Li (李佳阳), commented that reducing the number of complex technical parameters on the label would help consumers comprehend and accept energy efficiency labels. The study recommends that the label should incorporate information on actual energy consumption and potential cost savings available from the efficiency of the product.

The study also documents the appliance-using habits of Chinese consumers for nine products – refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, water heaters, induction cookers, rice cookers, microwaves, computers, and air conditioners – which will give CNIS a more accurate estimate of how much energy these products consume.

The full study, forthcoming from CLASP, will help CNIS to further improve the labeling program and ultimately encourage consumers to purchase energy efficient appliances. In collaboration with CNIS and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), CLASP has initiated work to create a communications strategy for this purpose.

Access a full translation of CCN’s press release below, and the original Chinese language version here.

China Consumer News
June 18, 2014
Author: Sang Xue Qi, Zhao Xiong
China’s Energy Label Expects to be Fully Understood

Since it was officially launched on March 1, 2005, China’s energy efficiency labeling program has reached its 10th year of implementation. A survey shows that, through nearly 10 years of promotion, energy efficiency labeling has obtained a higher degree of awareness among consumers. However, the levels of understanding varied based upon different product categories, implementation date, and energy-related parameters on the label. At the International Symposium on Compliance Mechanisms for Energy Efficiency Labeling –hosted by the Asian Development Bank, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), and China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS) – experts indicated that easily comprehensible information and promotion activities would help increase Chinese consumers’ comprehension and acceptance towards the energy label.

Market research: awareness varies among different product categories

In August 2004, the State Planning Commission and the State Bureau of Quality Supervision in China jointly issued the “Administration Regulation on Energy Efficiency Label ” and officially launched and implemented the mandatory energy efficiency labeling program.

According to Yanyan Peng (彭研研), Researcher of CNIS’ Energy Efficiency Labeling Management Center, China has published 10 batches of energy labels, covering five major product categories and 28 types of energy-using products. Among those products, home appliances accounted for 43%. Office and electronic equipment accounted for 18%. Lighting products accounted for 7%, and the rest were industrial and commercial equipment. Home appliances covered 12 products categories, such as refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and water heaters.

In May 2013, a survey conducted by China Consumer News, 3G.CN, and Top10 Switzerland showed that energy efficiency labeling has become an important indicator for consumers to compare the performance of energy-efficient appliances. When asked “what indicator you will reference if you are looking for an appliance’s energy efficiency,” 81.35% of consumers chose the energy label as the primary indicator. Among those consumers, 20.68% of consumers believed that energy label plays a critical role in deciding which product to buy and that they make their purchase decisions based on the efficiency level on the label.

CLASP recently conducted a survey on nine major home appliances in the Chinese market. The survey showed that more than 96% of China’s urban residents “know about the energy label.” Lei Zeng (曾磊), CLASP’s China Program Director, said, “Overall, consumer awareness of energy efficiency labeling has increased rapidly.” The percentage of consumers who know that the energy label is an indication of a product’s energy efficiency has increased from 61.5% to 96%. The percentage of consumers who can identify the most energy efficient tier and understand basic energy efficiency parameters has increased from 29.8% from 3 years ago to 55.9%. However, “the survey shows that consumers’ awareness varies significantly across various product categories,” said Zeng. For example, for air conditioners and refrigerators, these products have carried the energy label since 2005 – consumer recognition of the energy label for these two products are 95.8% and 87.3% respectively. For products such as plasma televisions that just recently started carrying the energy label, consumer’s recognition was found relatively lower at 11.2%.

Consumers’ response: technical parameters are difficult to comprehend

Although awareness of energy efficiency labeling seems high, further investigation found that people do not fully comprehend information on the energy efficiency labeling. Ms. Liu, a consumer, asked: “I want to buy an energy-saving air-conditioner. Should I buy one with energy efficiency level one or five?” During the interviewing process, the reporter also found that many consumers asked the same question. CLASP’s survey showed that about 1/4 of the people gave a wrong or uncertain answer when being asked about the correlation between energy efficiency and the efficiency rating on the label.

Meanwhile, the survey also showed that 63.3% of consumers look at not only the energy efficiency rating but also specific parameters on the label when making a purchase decision. “Consumers today are increasingly data-oriented. They would not be satisfied just knowing that a product is energy efficient. They would want to know how much energy could be saved.” In the Dazhong Electronics store in Beijing, an air conditioning retailer commented that energy efficiency parameters on label have become an “important evidence” to persuade consumers. On the other hand, consumers could not fully understand some highly technical parameters. While the retailer was being interviewed, a customer asked confusingly, “What is energy efficiency ratio? What is the difference between cooling season energy consumption and the annual energy consumption efficiency?”

According to CLASP’s survey that focused on the parameters for nine product categories, consumers exhibit a relatively high level of understanding on volume, capacity, water, and other physical parameters. For example, the comprehension rate for the volume of refrigerators and the freezer compartment is about 80%. It shows that consumers are able to comprehend basic physical parameters. For parameter such as power consumption of standby power, the comprehension rate is around 60%. Even for parameters that has the lowest comprehension — output power for instance — the comprehension rate is above 30%. However, for complex energy consumption parameters, the average comprehension rate is below 20%. Additionally, the levels of comprehension for efficiency parameters are generally low, except for thermal efficiency of electric stoves and efficiency for microwaves, whose comprehension rate is slightly over 40%.

The survey also showed that while some consumers claimed that they understand the parameters, they could not correctly answer what those parameters mean. For instance, 69% of survey respondents said they understood “inner container material (metallic or non-metallic)” for rice cookers. However, only 9.5% of respondents correctly answered further questions. Responses were similar for computers. For computer’s “product type” and “typical energy consumption,” 57.3% and 47.1% of respondents respectively thought they understand these parameters, but only 12.8% and 0.8% of respondents answered further questions correctly.

In addition, different efficiency ratings for the same product using different technologies often caused confusion for consumers. Flat-panel TVs, for example, most consumers were not aware that a low-efficiency rated LCD TV may still be more energy efficient than a high rated plasma TV. Choosing between a fixed-frequency air conditioner and an inverter air conditioner that are both rated for level 2, consumers could not tell which product was more efficient.

Experts’ Opinion: Use multiple ways to promote energy efficiency labeling

Energy efficiency labeling and promotion of energy efficient products are a main focus for discussion at the International Symposium on Compliance Mechanisms for Energy Efficiency Labeling. “2015 is the 10th year of implementation for China’s energy efficiency labeling program. The promotion of energy efficiency labeling program is facing a new challenge. In addition to raising people’s awareness about the energy label, we hope that the whole society would understand the meaning of the energy label more deeply and join our efforts in saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions,” said Yanyan Peng (彭研研). To summarize the lessons learned from the past decade and to explore future directions for the energy label, the Energy Efficiency Labeling Management Center decided to launch a series of promotion activities for the tenth anniversary of the implementation of energy-efficiency labeling from 2014 to 2015. Peng said, “The efficiency levels of U.S. Energy Star products are roughly equivalent to the level 1 or level 2 on China’s energy label. There are no complicated parameters on the Energy Star label, so consumer could easily recognize the label when they are buying energy efficient products.” Jiayang Li (李佳阳), CLASP’s China Program Senior Associate, commented that reducing the number of complex technical parameters on the label would help consumers comprehend and accept energy efficiency labels.

Luting Huang (黄璐婷) then presented the new energy label sample designed by Switzerland’s Top10 Energy Conservation Center. The label indicated annual electricity costs, cost savings in comparison to low-efficient products, suitable room size, etc. Haung said, “Consumers care most of the energy efficiency parameters – how much an energy efficiency product could save and what is appropriate usage for a product. Some environmentally-conscious consumers would even pay more attention to the amount of carbon emissions discharged during the product life cycle.” She commented that these energy efficiency parameters are easier for consumers to reference when buying energy efficiency products and would help gain consumer acceptance towards the energy label, thus contributing to the promotion of Top10’s energy saving label.

Huang also believed that, in the era of internet, the promotion of energy efficiency labels needs to be more diverse. For example, the use of a QR code on the label would enable consumers obtain more detailed product information. By scanning the QR code, consumers can log in to Top10’s website for more information on energy saving products.

Additionally, CLASP’s survey shows the retail stores are the main channel for consumers to purchase appliances. Tan Zheng (郑坦), China Program Director of Switzerland’s Top10, believes that governments could strengthen the promotion at the point of sales through increasing training of sale persons, putting up signs and slogans at retailer stores, and distributing brochure and flyers. Top10 has worked with the US retailers to distribute booklets about home energy savings tips.

Interpretation: Improve reliability and increase credibility

Tan Zheng (郑坦) commented, “Since the launch of the Administration Regulation on Energy Efficiency Label on March 1, 2005, non-compliance of energy label has been a major obstacle that weakened consumers’ trusts for the energy labeling program.” In the survey, “Do you Understand the Energy Efficiency Label,” conducted by China Consumer News, 3G.CN, and Top10 Switzerland, only 45.61% of respondents expressed that they trust the energy label when they were asked “do you believe in the energy efficiency label’s credibility and authority?” Among them, only 4.39% said they “completely trust” the label. About 50% of respondents answered “not sure,” “do not entirely trust,” “do not trust.” Zheng said, “China is not the only country facing this challenge. Verification of energy label compliance is an important element of energy efficiency labeling programs around the world.”

Compliance mechanisms of energy efficiency labeling are also a key topic in the International Symposium supported by the Asia Development Bank. The discussion at the Symposium focused on ways to improve China’s compliance for energy efficiency labeling. Experts introduced lessons learned and the best practices of compliance frameworks and policies around the world and also addressed policy recommendations on how to improve policy compliance in China. The Symposium organized three core groups focusing on inverter air conditioners, refrigerators, and flat screen TV to facilitate technical information exchange, introduce test protocols for testing product performance, and receive feedback and suggestions from test organizations.

“In order to improve testing skills, it is essential to align and compare test data among test laboratories. It is also the best way to shorten the gaps between us and advanced laboratories,” said Jianguo Lu (鲁建国), Head of the Testing Technology Center at the China Testing & Inspection Institute for Household Electric Appliances (CHEARI). He further commented that the accuracy of testing relies on testing laboratory, its personnel, equipment, and management system. In order to truly reflect the quality and performance of products, improving human, financial, and physical resources and management at the test laboratories is a necessary step to address non-compliance of energy labeling. According to Lu, “It is hard to imagine that test data produced by different test laboratories showed 30 liters of a difference in a measurement for a 160-liter refrigerator. This indicates the lack of credibility of test resulted from some of the laboratories.” Yanyan Peng (彭研研) commented that CNIS has been verifying the quality of energy efficiency testing laboratories by documenting test reports, conducting on-site verification, and verifying data integrity to ensure laboratories have the capability to undertake energy efficiency testing. In 2010, during the test data consistency verification process, CNIS found that 57 among 384 laboratories, roughly about 13.7%, failed the verification.

Jianguo Lu (鲁建国) pointed out that increasing investment in testing laboratories is imperative while advocating the credibility of energy labels. The development of China’s home appliance industry has matured. Companies compete on products and designs. Product design is supported by a large amount of testing data. Therefore, setting up high-quality testing laboratories would help manufacturers shorten the gap with international leading appliance manufacturers and would also help government regulate market behaviors and identify low-quality counterfeit products. Currently in China, the appliance industry overly exaggerates products’ water and energy savings capability and neglected the correlation between product performance and water- or energy-consumption. Lu believes that a considerable part of this issue is due to the lack of comprehensive test protocols and the lack of knowledge on product performance, causing manufacturers to exaggerate product’s capabilities. Therefore, building performance testing laboratory is the fundamental step to further the development of the appliance industry and to rebuild consumer’s trust for the energy label.

In order to more effectively promote the energy efficiency labeling system and prevent false labeling from misleading consumers, China Household Electrical Appliances Association is currently drafting a self-discipline technical protocol for industry to accurately calibrate key technical parameters.
Available news links:

• Xinhua News
• China Consumer News
• Hexun News

The primary aim of this study is to estimate the energy efficiency improvement potential related to available technical solutions by adopting best motor repair practices in five selected economies: China, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and Vietnam. The study can benefit policy-makers and standard-setting bodies because it can help raise their awareness regarding the potential for energy savings related to repair and preventive maintenance of installed motors.

The study is divided into three tasks:

• Task 1: Existing and Best Practices in Motor Repairs
• Task 2: Market Overview
• Task 3: Potential for Energy Efficiency Improvements

The primary aim of this study was to estimate the energy efficiency improvement potential arising from adopting best motor repair practices in five selected economies: China, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and Vietnam.

Clothes washers are an important product, as households in China increasingly consider them a necessity. As income levels rise in rural areas, the demand for washing machines continues to grow. It is estimated that clothes washers consume approximately 15 TWh of energy per year in 2030 – enough to power more than 11 million of Chinese homes for a year. Such projections demonstrate the need to address the energy efficiency and overall consumption of washing machines.

Since China’s first minimum energy performance standard for domestic clothes washers was issued in 2004, rapid technology development and government aid through financial incentives have significantly driven up the energy efficiency levels of products sold on the Chinese market. The 2004 standard has not kept pace with market shifts, and a more stringent standard is required to continue pushing the clothes washer market towards higher energy efficiency.

In 2012, CLASP and Consumer Research Associates partnered to conduct a benchmarking comparison of clothes washer energy efficiency performance, policies, and test methods. The main objective was to assist the China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS) in revising efficiency requirements for future clothes washer energy performance standards in a transparent and technically valid manner that is consistent with international best practices.

This study also provided CNIS with an opportunity to compare Chinese test methodology, laboratory practices and EE policies with those in the EU. The results of the comparison will assist CNIS in determining whether the adoption of an international standard or test method could become appropriate for China in the future.

Due to the absence of reliable data about the Chinese market, a benchmarking comparison of clothes washers between China and other economies has not been undertaken previously. For the purposes of this study, CLASP mapped the Chinese and EU clothes washer markets, selected representative machines, and conducted cross-market testing for the first time. At CNIS’ request, CLASP also provided training to CNIS testing staff to conduct testing based on EU methodology so that it could be replicated in CNIS’ clothes washer test laboratory. A training component was therefore included in the testing phase for this study.

The comparison of energy efficiency labeling specifications in both the Chinese and EU markets for the same washer samples demonstrates two things:

• Firstly, it shows that there is a close correlation between the test standards being applied in both markets for front-loading washers. These results give CNIS confidence that adopting test methods used international or in the EU would be likely to be acceptable to domestic manufacturers.
• Secondly, the comparison demonstrates that China’s current EE labeling thresholds for front-loading washers are on par with those in the EU. It is important to note, however, that front-loading washers only account for about 32% of China’s clothes washer market.

Many economies around the world are beginning to regulate commercial refrigeration equipment (CRE). CRE products include vending machines, reach-in coolers, among other products.  Due to the limited availability of data for many products in the CRE product category, economies often face challenges when trying to implement S&L policies.

CLASP’s product and policy mapping and benchmarking studies inform policymakers about opportunities and pathways to raise the ambition of national policies in order to maximize energy savings and CO2 emissions reductions.  The data collected and benchmarks determined by this study can provide economies with better information and ambitious targets when setting or revising product policies.

Following the completion of the CRE scoping study in 2012, CLASP conducted a benchmarking analysis for CRE in collaboration with the SEAD Initiative and Waide Strategic Efficiency, Saint Trofee and Cemafroid. Based on recommendations from the scoping study, this benchmarking study focuses on products that are most commonly used and regulated, such as commercial reach-in coolers (including refrigerated display cabinets and beverage coolers) and refrigerated vending machines.

This analysis focuses on nine economies – including Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Japan, Mexico, South Africa and the US – that demonstrate high energy savings potential through adopting more proactive policy measures for CRE.  By including more economies in the study, the study provides additional country-specific data and complements International Energy Agency Efficient Electrical End-Use Equipment (IEA 4E)’s existing mapping and benchmarking reports for vending machines and retail display cabinets.

In order to facilitate the comparability of efficiency policies across these economies, this study:

• Identifies the national test procedures applied in the target economies and their equivalence to international or national test procedures;
• Compares the differences in the testing procedures to assess the expected impact on rated energy performance;
• Develops energy performance benchmarks; and
• Assesses higher energy efficiency design options and potential efficiency improvement cost-benefits.

Based on the analysis, both reach-in coolers and vending machines demonstrate great potential for significant energy savings by implementing or improving energy efficiency standards and labelling policies in the nine targeted economies.

• Reach-in coolers: if all new products sold from 2014 onwards use the maximum technically achievable efficiency today, the energy savings would be of 56 TWh in 2035 – equivalent to removing the emissions of 11 coal-fired power plants for a year.
• Vending machines: If all new vending machines sold from 2014 onwards were to be at the maximum technically achievable efficiency today, the energy savings would be of 18.5 TWh by 2035 – equivalent to removing the emissions of 3.7 coal-fired power plants for a year.

A growing economy and accelerating urbanization means that demand for household appliances in China is increasing, as is the amount of energy consumed by appliances. The Chinese Government has long recognized the energy-savings potential of appliances, having implemented minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) since the 1980s and launched the mandatory China Energy Label (CEL) program in 2005. The CEL is a highly visible component of China’s efforts to transform the market towards highly efficient appliances. Furthermore, the CEL is gaining exposure as the program expands to cover more products and consumer demand for products increases. As more consumers become aware of the CEL, and reference it in their purchasing decisions, it is important to ensure that the label conveys accurate information clearly and effectively.

In order to assess how well consumers understand the CEL, and how they typically use their home appliances, CLASP collaborated with All China Market Research Co. Ltd. (ACMR) on a comprehensive survey of Chinese urban consumers that explored their general understanding of the label, its overall design, and specific label information for nine types of appliances. The study also included a diary-keeping component that tracked usage habits – such as frequency and duration of use – for typical appliances in urban Chinese households.

The results of the study, shared with the China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS) and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), reveal opportunities for CNIS to improve both the effectiveness of the CEL and the accuracy of the data that labels provide. The survey indicates that more than 97% of urban consumers polled claimed to have seen the CEL before, and that about 75% correctly understand how the labels differentiate between efficient and inefficient products. These findings indicate that education and promotional programs have been successful in raising awareness of the labeling program, but also that further efforts are needed to increase consumer comprehension. To that end, the study offers these and other suggestions to policymakers:

• Improve the readability of information on the CEL: While technical parameters are the most important aspect of the CEL for consumers, they are not always correctly understood. Simpler, more reader-friendly terms, as well as a reduction in complex technical content, could make the label more effective.
• Add information regarding consumption and savings to the label: With the data on appliance-usage habits collected in this study, typical household energy consumption can be calculated and used to derive the monetary savings of more efficient products. This information is more direct and relevant for consumers.
• Revise MEPS, test procedures, and energy savings estimates based on robust, accurate appliance usage data: To effectively push the market towards energy efficient products, MEPS and CELs should be designed based on realistic energy savings estimates, and test procedures should be closely aligned with how appliances are used in real-life conditions.

This study was conducted for CLASP by All China Market Research Co. Ltd., and authored by Yang Yu.

In collaboration with Stricker Associates, CLASP conducted this benchmarking analysis to provide comparison of test procedures and calculation methods used in China, the United Kingdom (UK), and Canada.

Benchmarking China’s refrigerators is important because China’s manufacturing base and market for refrigerators are the largest in the world, and are expanding at a fast pace. At request of Chinese policymakers, CLASP conducted the analysis to provide a method for comparing the allowable maximum daily energy consumption per unit of adjusted volume for China, the UK and Canada on a common basis for household refrigerator-freezers and freezers and to inform the policy revision process in China.

Additionally, this analysis provides complementary data to International Energy Agency Efficient Electrical End-Use Equipment (IEA 4E)’s mapping and benchmarking study for domestic refrigerated appliances. Together, these benchmarking analyses provide detailed comparison on refrigerator energy efficiency policies across nine economies and enable policymakers to identify opportunities to optimize their policies for residential refrigerators based on international best practices.

Defining the maximum allowable energy consumption for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers is challenging because of variations in size, configuration, operating modes, controlled temperature, ambient operating temperature, and power input voltage and frequency.

Although many countries have selected international standards for measuring the performance and efficiency of these products, others have adopted their own systems for rating and labeling these appliances according to their energy consumption. Due to the variations in test procedures, it is difficult to directly compare refrigerator energy performance and efficiency policies across economies.

The comparison of performance of refrigerators requires that the models selected are most common, have comparable functionality, and can be compared on an equivalent performance basis, i.e. operating under equivalent conditions. The results of such performance comparisons can provide insight into the energy efficiency requirements, as well as the efficiencies of products available in these markets.

Benchmarking of appliances in different economies also requires a thorough review of the test methods in order to define a method for making adjustments so as to make the test results directly comparable. Applying the adjustments provides a means for rating the efficiency in each economy against one another, revealing the actual differences on a common basis.

A growing number of households and rising consumer prosperity are driving a rapid increase in energy consumption by consumer appliances in China. The Chinese Government has already implemented a series of policies to improve product energy efficiency, such as minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and energy labeling.  However, China’s rapidly developing market and recent improvements in appliance technology have rendered some of these policies out-of-date.

In 2013, CLASP and its partners completed Market Analysis of China Energy Efficient Products (MACEEP), a study that identifies where China’s appliance energy efficiency policies are not keeping pace with emerging technologies or rapid market shifts for nine products. MACEEP provides policy recommendations to assist the China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS) in updating MEPS, labeling policies, and test procedures accordingly.

In order to provide CNIS with an estimate of how much energy could be saved from revising existing policies, and to assist them in prioritizing policies for revision, CLASP and Kevin Lane (Oxford) conducted an energy savings potential (ESP) analysis. Incorporating the methodology and results of a previous CLASP-funded study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), China Product Prioritization & Energy Saving Potential evaluates potential energy savings from policy revisions to 11 products, based on three main scenarios:

• Business as usual (BAU), in which no revisions are made to the current appliance policies;
• Revised MEPS (MEPS2), in which the Chinese Government revises energy performance levels for standards and labels as recommended in the MACEEP study; and
• Best on Market (BOM), in which the Chinese Government adopts energy performance levels that are aligned with those of the most efficient products currently on the Chinese market.

Within these scenarios, the ESP study shows that the following cumulative energy savings are possible in 2030:

This study was authored for CLASP by Kevin Lane, with support from Top10 China and CLASP’s China program.

Fueled in part by decades of rapid economic development and rising disposable incomes, China’s domestic energy consumption has risen at an extraordinary rate, growing 43% between 2008 and 2012. The Chinese Government recognizes that increases in household appliance ownership and use is one of the primary contributors to overall energy consumption, and has implemented a series of measures to improve household appliance energy efficiency. In 2012, the Government launched a year-long incentive phase of the Promoting Energy-Efficient Appliances for the Benefit of People Program, which subsidized consumer purchases of six energy-efficient household appliances.

In order to assess the effectiveness of this subsidy program, CLASP and All China Marketing Research (ACMR) conducted a survey of consumers across different socioeconomic categories in ten Chinese cities in 2012. The study investigated consumers’ behavior when considering appliance purchases and examined the subsidy program’s impact on those purchases. The results of the survey offer lessons to be considered during the design and implementation of future incentive programs.

The survey found that electricity savings were a primary reason that most Chinese consumers selected energy efficient appliances, most likely because these savings would allow consumers to save money on their energy bills amidst steadily rising electricity prices. While the subsidy program enjoyed a considerable level of awareness among Chinese consumers, most consumers lacked an in-depth understanding of the program, and subsidies were not a top consideration when making appliance purchases. Furthermore, Chinese consumers’ willingness to pay for more efficient appliances was low, and the size of current subsidies was relatively small compared with consumer expectations.

Findings from this survey suggest that increased public awareness as well as adjusted subsidy amounts would boost the program’s impact and ultimately push the market toward more efficient products. The study recommends allocating a sufficient budget for public outreach around future subsidy programs, as well as making use of a wide range of media and communication channels. In addition, policymakers should consider offering higher subsidies for smaller, more-select groups of highly-efficient appliances, a change that would better align subsidy amounts with consumer expectations while promoting only those products with the highest energy efficiency.

Market research was conducted by ACMR for CLASP. The study was authored by Yang Yu of CLASP.

A version of this study was published in the journal Applied Energy in November 2014.