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Stock modelling and cost-effectiveness analysis of energy-efficient household electronic appliances in Switzerland

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Abstract

Worldwide, household electronic appliances represent a very dynamic market segment, accounting for a significant share of household energy demand. In Switzerland, household electronic appliances consumed 5.3 PJ (1.5 TWh) or 8.2% of the residential sector’s electricity demand. According to historical trends, improved energy efficiency has been counteracting increased size, enhanced functionality and growing numbers of consumer electronics. A stock model is developed to describe the evolution of the appliances in use and the corresponding energy use. Apart from analysing past trends, we develop scenarios for the future based on simplified assumptions for energy efficiency improvement and penetration rates. We find that the competing aforementioned trends may keep the total energy demand of this product category at today’s level until 2035. Our energy efficiency cost curves show that the current energy saving potential is close to 1 PJ or 18% but that the related measures are not cost-effective when taking today’s perspective of a consumer who is faced with the choice among energy-efficient products currently offered on the market. Based on our findings for today’s commercially available portfolio of products, it therefore currently does not seem reasonable to recommend proactive, consumer-oriented policies for household electronic appliances (such as rebates). Instead, the findings indicate that producer-oriented policy measures should be pursued, ensuring continuous R&D and implementation of energy efficiency technologies including standby loss minimization related to connected appliances and wireless charging.

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Notes

  1. Prognos’ study “Energy perspectives for Switzerland until 2050” (original title in German: Die Energieperspektiven für die Schweiz bis 2050 (Cooper 2004)), commissioned by the Swiss Federal Office for Energy (SFOE) and published in 2013, served as basis for the Swiss “Energy Strategy 2050”. It is a very detailed study depicting the energy transition in Switzerland until 2050. However, the modelling approach and data inputs are not published in detail.

  2. For advanced approach, we assume that the appliances that are replaced during early replacement have reached half of their lifetime.

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Acknowledgements

This research project was financially supported by the Swiss Innovation Agency Innosuisse (former name: Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation, CTI) and is part of the Swiss Competence Center for Research in Energy, Society and Transition (CREST). We are grateful for this support and also thank the anonymous reviewers of the journal “Energy Efficiency” for their critical comments which have allowed to substantially improve the paper compared to its original version.

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    Mahbod Heidari & Martin Patel

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Heidari, M., Patel, M. Stock modelling and cost-effectiveness analysis of energy-efficient household electronic appliances in Switzerland. Energy Efficiency 13, 571–596 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-020-09843-x

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