Energy Consumption of Major Household Appliances Shipped in Canada – Trends for 1990–2005

HIGHLIGHTS

Appliances have become an increasingly fundamental part of modern lifestyles. The average Canadian household contains at least six major appliances, including a refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher, range, clothes washer and clothes dryer. The percentage of ownership of most appliances in Canada has steadily increased during the past 20 years.

Future energy demand of appliances is driven by the efficiency of the equipment, market penetrations, population growth, and changes in individual behaviour and usage patterns. Although the penetration of most "white goods"³ is already relatively high in Canada, population growth and the shift to smaller, more numerous households will likely increase the appliance energy use over the coming decade.⁴

The energy efficiency of major household appliances on the market improved significantly between 1990 and 2005. Largely responsible for the improvement were the significant research and development activities carried out by appliance manufacturers and three initiatives authorized under the 1992 Energy Efficiency Act: the minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) contained in the Energy Efficiency Regulations, the EnerGuide for Equipment program and the ENERGY STAR^® Initiative in Canada. Also responsible for the improvement were an increase in consumer awareness and various incentives and rebates offered by the federal, provincial and municipal governments and utilities. Details of the latter can be found in the Directory of Energy Efficiency and Alternative Energy Programs in Canada (oee.nrcan.gc.ca/programs-directory) or on the ENERGY STAR Web site (oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/rebates.cfm)

Figure 1 depicts the cumulative energy savings, measured in petajoules (PJ),⁵ of major household appliances from 1992 to 2005.

Here are some interesting findings as a result of the analysis of the shipment data:

• Total energy savings for the six major appliances shipped in 2005 were calculated at 5.60 PJ⁶ (or 1.56 billion kWh⁷). This saved consumers an estimated $143 million in energy costs in 2005, based on an approximate national average of 9.2 cents/kWh.⁸
  
  
• The cumulative energy savings for all major household appliances between 1992 and 2005 were 30.48 PJ (or 8.47 billion kWh) – the equivalent of a year's energy for about 274 000 households.
  
  
• Among major appliances, refrigerators produced the largest cumulative energy savings, 11.13 PJ (or 3.09 billion kWh) from 1992 to 2005.
  
  
• This is the second year for which data were available to perform an analysis for retail versus builder shipments by region/province. In both years, it was found that, for all major household appliances, shipments to builders in British Columbia and the Territories were higher and shipments to builders in Quebec were lower than shipments to other regions. This finding will be monitored in future reports.

Energy-efficient products will have a significant impact on consumers' energy bills and energy savings only upon the disposal of older appliances, such as the "old" second refrigerator in the basement.⁹ According to the 2003 Survey of Household Energy Use,¹⁰ about 765 000 Canadian households did not dispose of their previous refrigerator when they acquired a new one in 2003. If consumers keep using the older models as a second appliance in the home, the maximum amount of energy savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions will not be realized.

³ Large, durable consumer goods usually finished in white, such as refrigerators, clothes washers and dryers.
⁴ Source: E Source Residential Appliances Atlas, (E Source TA-RA 01: October 2001).
⁵ One petajoule (PJ) (1 PJ = 1 X 10¹⁵ joules) is equivalent to the amount of energy consumed by about 9000 households in one year – assuming each household uses 111 gigajoules (GJ) (1 GJ = 1 X 109 joules) annually (according to the Energy Use Data Handbook table that can be found on the OEE Web site at oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/tableshandbook2/r es_00_5_e_2.cfm). A joule is the international unit of measure of energy – the energy produced by the power of one watt flowing for one second. There are 3.6 million joules in one kilowatt hour (kWh).
⁶ One petajoule (PJ) equals 277 777 777.78 kWh.
⁷ The commercial unit of electricity energy equivalent to 1000 watt hours. A kilowatt hour can best be visualized as the amount of electricity consumed by ten 100-watt bulbs burning for one hour.
⁸ Source: Energy Use Data Handbook table that can be found on the OEE Web site at oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/tableshandbook2/res_00_18_e_2.cfm. Note that this is a national average.
⁹ Be sure to choose an environmentally friendly option when disposing of an appliance. Appliance recycling programs are available in many Canadian communities. Consult your Yellow Pages or call your municipality to find out what programs exist and how appliances are collected in your area. Or consult the Canadian Metals Recycling Database at www.recycle.nrcan.gc.ca to find Canadian companies involved in the recycling of appliances or "white goods."
¹⁰ Natural Resources Canada, 2003 Survey of Household Energy Use, Detailed Statistical Report (Ottawa: 2006), p. 59. Available: oee.nrcan.gc.ca/Publications/statistics/sheu03/pdf/sheu03.pdf.