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Major appliances in Australia are a major source of electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for as much as 40% of residential greenhouse gas emissions. And while many of the appliances currently on the market are quite efficient, there are also many that could be substantially improved. Energy labelling is a program which aims to create market pull for efficient products through the provision of clear and objective information on energy efficiency to consumers.
The aims of energy labelling are to:
Energy labelling is merely the provision of information in a form that is objective and easy to understand for consumers. All products are required to supply and declare energy data that has been determined when tested to the relevant Australian Standard. It is one of the most light handed forms of regulation and the cost imposition on manufacturers and consumers is minimal. But it can lead to a strong market pull for energy efficient appliances and encourage manufacturers to respond to market demands.
Without energy labelling, consumers have no objective way to determine appliance operating costs, as energy consumption is rarely declared on a voluntary basis by manufacturers. Energy operating costs over an appliance's life are typically equal to or greater than the appliance purchase cost. So a lack of information on energy consumption can mean that there is a significant potential market failure - the inability of consumer to estimate more than half of the total appliance costs.
For some product types, governments have determined that more stringent regulatory energy policies to reduce energy consumption are warranted. Therefore Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) have been introduced for refrigerators, freezers and main pressure electric storage water heaters. MEPS means that governments withdraw the right of manufacturers, importers and retailers to lawfully supply products that do not meet predetermined efficiency levels. This is a higher level of market intervention and accordingly there are more stringent market tests and cost effectiveness criteria associated with this type of program prior to its implementation.
Energy efficiency labelling for major appliances in Australia was first proposed in the late 1970s, by the State governments in New South Wales and Victoria (the two largest of Australia's six states and two territories). When raised with the appliance industry in 1982, there was considerable resistance on two grounds:
Although several states commenced mandatory labelling in the mid 1980s, it was not until 1992 that a mandatory national labelling scheme was finally agreed, and legislation in the last state and territory was not passed until 2000.
Australia has one of the oldest energy labelling programs in existence. Only the Canadian (1978) and US (1979/1980) schemes pre-date the Australian system.
Quite a lot. With 7 million households in 2001 and a good standard of living, Australia's residential energy consumption is a significant proportion of the national total (around 40%). A large proportion of our household energy needs are met with electricity, which on mainland Australia is generated with fossil fuels. This means significant greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to the residential sector.
Residential energy consumption in 1998 was about 330 Peta Joules for all fuel types and greenhouse gas emissions attributable to the residential sector totalled about 54 MT CO2-e (out of a total of 320 MT CO2 from combustion of fossil fuels). While appliances only account for about 30% of total energy consumption, they account for 53% of residential greenhouse emissions, excluding space heating and cooling (air conditioners) and hot water requirements for appliances.
The following figures provide a breakdown by fuel and end use for energy and greenhouse gas emissions:
This page last modified 27 June 2007
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