Theory of energy efficiency standards and labels

Interests in establishing appliance standards are spreading from North America and Europe to many other countries around the world. Household appliance standards have more than three decades of history, but it became popular just after the oil price shock in the 1970s. Despite that, the literature on theory and methodology of developing energy efficiency standards is still limited. The theory and methodology of appliances efficiency programs are still being developed, and therefore, no single methodology is available for establishing standards and labels. The best approach may differ with goals, appliance type and local conditions. This paper discusses the theory and methodology involved in developing energy efficiency standards and labels for household appliances. It can be used also for other appliances with a few modifications. The initial step of setting a standard is proposing a test procedure followed by proposing suitable standards, labels and incentive programs for the appliances. The equations to calculate energy savings and the economic and environmental impact of standards and labels are also proposed. The theory and methodology presented in this study is suitable for a developing country that has a lack of available data and for a country that is considering revising existing standards and labels without major modification. Using this approach may shorten the time required for developing standards and labels compared with existing theory and procedure. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.