Made for China : Energy Efficiency Standards and Labels for Household Appliances

Since introduced in the 1960’s, energy efficiency standards and labels have been widely adopted in the world as one of the most effective policies to raise end-use energy efficiency. These policies have gained increasing popularity among government agencies because not only they are effective tools in achieving energy saving and climate change goals, but also they can bring substantial economic benefits to consumers and the national economy in terms of reduced energy costs and avoided investment in generating capacities (Wiel and McMahon, 2001). By focusing on manufacturers, energy efficiency standards can effectively remove most inefficient energy consuming products from the market place while guide the market competition toward higher energy efficiency. By providing energy performance information, energy efficiency labels help consumers make informed choices in their purchasing decision on appliances. Standards and labels can be either mandatory or voluntary, and are often complementary. The most successful examples of these policies include the minimum energy performance standards in the United States, the “Top Runner” program in Japan, the comparative energy labels in Europe and Australia, and the endorsement energy label Energy Star in the United States. Since 1989, China has developed one of the most comprehensive appliance standards and labeling programs in the developing world. The program includes minimum energy efficiency standards, a voluntary endorsement label, and a proposed information label. The minimum energy efficiency standards are mandatory and have been issued for 9 types of appliance and lighting products. The voluntary endorsement label has been issued for 15 types of appliances, lighting, and industrial products. The information label is under development and is likely to be implemented as a pilot program in 2003 (Lin, 2002).