Cash for Coolers

Lucas Davis, Alan Fuchs and Paul Gertler

No 18044, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper examines a large-scale appliance replacement program in Mexico that since 2009 has helped 1.5 million households replace their old refrigerators and air-conditioners with energy-efficient models. Using household-level electric billing records from the population of Mexican residential customers we find that refrigerator replacement reduces electricity consumption by an average of 11 kilowatt hours per month, about a 7% decrease. We find that air conditioning replacement, in contrast, increases electricity consumption by an average of 6 kilowatt hours per month, with larger increases during the summer. To put these results in context we present a simple conceptual framework in which energy-efficient durable goods cost less to operate, so households use them more. This behavioral response, sometimes called the "rebound" effect, is important for air-conditioners, but not important for refrigerators.

JEL-codes: D12 H23 Q40 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene
Note: EEE
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Published as Cash for Coolers: Evaluating a Large-Scale Appliance Replacement Program in Mexico” (with Alan Fuchs and Paul Gertler), American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, vol. 6, no. 4, November 2014 (pp. 207-38).

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.nber.org/papers/w18044.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18044

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://www.nber.org/papers/w18044

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().