I. Title of the Best Practice
Labeling of Electrical Appliances
II. Overview of the Best Practice
A. Characteristics of the measure
1. Objectives
The consumption of domestic electrical appliances is generally unknown by households since the electricity bill does not allow to identify the specific consumption of each appliance. By the way the investment cost of these appliances is often the main criteria of buying decision of households.
The objective of the measure is to provide information to the buyers in order to sensibilize them to the operation cost of the appliance and to orientate their choice toward more energy efficient ones.
The measure contributes also to promote a more efficient offer from manufacturers and retailers. It is finally a first step toward a regulation.
2. GHG targeted
The main gases targeted is CO2 but labels could include other criteria such as HFC's substitutes for refrigerators.
3. public targeted
4. Design of the measure
The measure had been designed at the European level through a <<directive>> (mandatory process) in 1995 developed through the <<SAVE>> programme making able to have the same methodology of energy efficiency assessment and the same labels among the European countries.
The first appliances for which the labels were implemented were refrigerators and freezers.
Seven classes of energy efficiency had been identified to qualify refrigerators and freezers from each categories (from class A the most efficient to class G the less) ; the label, posted on each appliance for sale in the shops, clearly indicates in which class it belongs. The most efficient refrigerators consumes 3 times less than the average units of the market.
After several years of implementation and the evolution of the market toward more efficient appliances, a regulation makes possible to eliminate the worst ones (classes E, F and G) from the market.
B. Reasons for inclusion as a Best Practice
The labeling process induces a double way to increase energy efficiency of the appliances :
- Consumers information and sensibilization
- Manufacturers and retailers choices orientation
Such process took advantage to be designed at the European level and implemented at the national level. The European level of designing makes possible to address an European scaled market and avoid competition bias ; the national level makes possible to take in account national circumstances to promote the labels in the most efficient way : in some countries the labels have been used for technology procurement and prescription of large buyers. In other countries like France the implementation of label had been developed through a collaborative process with retailers and training of sales men.
The most energy efficient refrigerators revealed not to be systematically more expensive than the average in investments and much less costly in terms of global cost (including operating cost during lifetime).
The evaluation of the measure conducted at the European scale showed that on the period 1994-96 the increase of efficiency of refrigerators was 10%. This result was rather a consequence of manufacturers commercial strategy than a move of consumer behavior. In that sense the introduction of a regulation remains a necessary option consecutive to labels implementation. Regulation on appliances have also been introduced in USA and Australia with success (Geller, 1997).
The labels can be associated with voluntary agreements or target value programs as in Japan or Switzerland.
III. Categorizing the Best Practice
1. classification : mandatory and information dissemination.
2. social actors involved :
European Union, Central governments and public agencies
Manufacturers
retailers
households
3. Sectors
4. Target (Greenhouse Gases)
IV. List of Attachments
V. Contacts
F. Moisan Director of strategy and Communication
ADEME : Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Energie
27 Rue Louis Vicat, 75015 Paris France. |
