Bridging the Energy Efficiency Gap: A Field Experiment on Lifetime Energy Costs and Household Appliances

Steffen Kallbekken, Håkon Sælen and Erlend Hermansen

Journal of Consumer Policy, 2013, vol. 36, issue 1, 16 pages

Abstract: Providing consumers with information that can lead to more energy-efficient choices can help reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions while reducing costs to consumers. A natural field experiment is conducted in collaboration with an electrical retailer to test strategies for influencing sales of household appliances. The experiment involves two product categories, fridge-freezers and tumble driers. Information on lifetime energy cost of appliances is provided through a label and training of sales staff. For fridge-freezers, the authors find no significant effects. For tumble driers, the combined treatment and training treatment reduce average energy use of tumble driers sold by 4.9% and 3.4%, respectively. The effect is strongest initially, over 12% on average for the first 3 months for the combined treatment but declines over time. The effect is significant at the 5% level for the combined treatment while not significant for sales staff training. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Keywords: Energy efficiency; Field experiment; Cost disclosure; Household appliances (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (36)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10603-012-9211-z

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