The EU energy label: How to present information on energy consumption?
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2022-12-06
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en
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Abstract
The purchase of an energy-efficient appliance can be seen as an investment, where a high upfront cost generates energy savings in the future. Yet, the literature reveals that consumers frequently act contrary to rational theory by overvaluing the purchase price while heavily discounting future energy savings. Labelling serves to stimulate the purchase of efficient appliances by increasing awareness of energy-efficiency. In this paper, I compare a created lifetime-oriented EU energy label against two previously tested displays of energy consumption: kWh/annum and yearly energy cost. 162 Dutch participants are recruited to an online experiment where they state their WTP for the energy-efficient refrigerator. The results indicate that the lifetime-oriented label is most effective in increasing the stated WTP for the energy-efficient refrigerator. Framing energy costs over its lifetime seems to increase the valuation of future energy savings and lower the cognitive burden to identify the cost-minimizing refrigerator over its lifetime.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen