Life-cycle cost analysis of major appliances
DOE has proposed energy efficiency standards for eight types of appliances. One of the criteria used to establish these standards is the economic impact of the standard on the consumers of the regulated products. A life-cycle cost analysis was performed for 32 classes of these eight appliances in order to gain a measure of the economic impact of equipment purchases on the consumer. Simple payback times were also computed to indicate how much time is required for the consumer to recapture his or her initial added investment in a more efficient product. Using national average energy use for each appliance type, we found that the proposed 1985 standards are cost-effective with respect to the energy efficiency levels projected to occur in the absence of standards for all classes of products. Simple payback periods range from several months for refrigerators and freezers to a maximum of 5.3 years for split system central air conditioners. A regional life-cycle cost analysis indicated that the distribution of costs and benefits from the proposed national standards varies significantly among the different regions for air conditioners and furnaces. In the region with the least cooling load hours, simple payback times are quite lengthy for air conditioners, and in some cases exceed the appliance lifetime.
- Research Organization:
- California Univ., Berkeley (USA). Lawrence Berkeley Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 6814656
- Report Number(s):
- LBL-11338
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Energy efficiency choice in the purchase of residential appliances
Socioeconomic impact study. Appliance Efficiency program: refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, freezers, room air conditioners, central air conditioners
Related Subjects
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
AIR CONDITIONERS
ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS
LIFE-CYCLE COST
CLOTHES DRYERS
FREEZERS
HEATING SYSTEMS
REFRIGERATORS
STOVES
WATER HEATERS
CONSUMER PROTECTION
ECONOMIC IMPACT
FUELS
HOUSEHOLDS
PAYBACK PERIOD
PRICES
US DOE
APPLIANCES
COST
DRYERS
HEATERS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
STANDARDS
US ORGANIZATIONS
320101* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Residential Buildings- (-1987)
290200 - Energy Planning & Policy- Economics & Sociology