Influence Mechanism of Energy Efficiency Label on Consumers' Purchasing Behavior of Energy-Saving Household Appliances

Why do consumers purchase energy-efficient kitchen appliance? An analysis based on online review comments

Kitchen appliances constitute a significant portion of residential energy consumption. Promoting consumer purchases of high-energy-efficient kitchen appliances can effectively facilitate the transition to a low-carbon society. However, the role of energy saving in the current purchasing behavior of Chinese consumers regarding kitchen appliances remains unclear. Based on user-generated content from online e-commerce platforms (N = 59,908), this study investigates whether Chinese consumers consider energy efficiency and its influencing factors when purchasing kitchen appliances through natural language processing and structural equation modeling techniques. The study findings reveal that: (1): Perceived energy saving is an important consideration for consumers to adopt kitchen appliances. (2): Prices benefits increase consumers' willingness to purchase energy-efficient appliances. (3): Consumers prioritize energy saving in the purchase of large kitchen appliances. (4): the effect of perceived energy saving on intention to purchase kitchen appliances is much stronger among high energy-efficient appliances. The results of this study propose specific policy recommendations to ensure the continuity of current demand-side energy efficiency policies related to kitchen appliances, utilize pricing mechanisms to incentivize consumers to purchase high-energy-efficient appliances, emphasize the importance of energy consumption of different types of kitchen appliance in environmental education, and establish stricter energy efficiency standards for kitchen appliances.

Residents' participation in energy performance certification for collective action on climate change: the case of EnerGuide

Introduction

Although governments have launched energy performance certification (EPC) programs to increase residential energy efficiency, residents' perception and acceptance of these programs have been little studied. This study contextualizes residents' intentions to participate in EPC programs in terms of their attributions to and attitudes toward climate change to find mediating factors and effects to help trigger collective action to reduce residential sector energy demand.

Methods

This study employed a partial least squares structural equation modeling approach to empirically analyze a survey conducted on 400 residents of Edmonton, Canada, who participated in the Canadian energy efficiency rating and labeling program, EnerGuide.

Results and Discussion

Using EnerGuide, a Canadian energy efficiency rating and labeling program, as an example, this study establishes a framework to explain that local residents' internal and external attributions to climate change elicit positive attitudes (need to take action), increasing their recognition of energy efficiency program benefits, which further promotes their EnerGuide program acceptance and participation intentions. This study also reveals the mediating effects between variables. Residents' attitudes toward climate change mediate the relationship between internal/external attributions and EnerGuide program acceptance, and they indirectly impact residents' program acceptance and participation intentions, with this effect moderated by energy efficiency program benefits. Residents' program acceptance also mediates the relationship between climate change attitudes/energy efficiency program benefits and the intention outcome.

Implication

The study provides an example of the use of climate change discourse to motivate residents' energy efficiency program participation.

Impacts of Building Energy Consumption Information on Energy-Saving Intention of College Students

As college students bear little energy cost of public buildings on campus, information intervention is more feasible than economic intervention to augment the energy-saving intention of college students. College students are sensitive to environmental information; thus, building energy consumption information, which reflects the energy consumption levels of the environment where students live, may be effective to promote the energy-saving intention of college students. However, the changeable cognitive structure of college students makes it difficult to predict the cognitive results of building energy consumption information. Based on social cognitive theory and theory of planned behavior, this paper reveals the impacts of building energy consumption information on energy-saving intentions of college students from the perspective of perceived value and personal norms. The conclusions are: (1) The impacts are positive and indirect; (2) the impacts are realized through the path “perceived benefit—perceived value—intention” and “perceived benefit & risk—personal norm—intention”; (3) the perceived value and personal norm independently affect energy-saving intention; and (4) the effect of perceived benefits is the most obvious. Based on the above results, we put forward a series of policy suggestions, with the aim to enhance the positive effect of building energy consumption information on college students.

The Influence of New and Old Energy Labels on Consumer Judgements and Decisions about Household Appliances

Energy efficiency is an increasingly important dimension of household appliances, which is why they are labeled to indicate their energy consumption. In 2020, the European Union countries changed the labeling system from the previous system: ranging from A+++ to D, to the new system: ranging from A to G, assuming it would be more transparent for the consumer. The aim of the study was to find out the extent to which consumers are aware of the new labeling system, and the impact that the new labels have (compared to the previous ones) on the perception of household appliances and consumer decision-making. For this purpose, the survey was conducted on a nationwide representative Polish sample (n = 1054). The research was partly experimental, where the same appliances were presented with new and previous energy labels. The results showed that currently most people do not identify the new energy classes. Furthermore, products with the new labels are perceived as being less energy efficient in comparison with products with the previous labels, which shows that there is some confusion among consumers in terms of the new energy efficiency labeling system.