Energy Consumption of Major Household Appliances Shipped in Canada – Trends for 1990-2003

1  Refrigerators

Refrigerators are available in various sizes and with a variety of different features, all of which affect energy consumption. That’s why EnerGuide groups refrigerators according to type and size, enabling you to compare the energy consumption of similar models. The following are the definitions of the various types of refrigerators:

Refrigerators without automatic defrost

Type 1  Refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers with manual defrost

Type 2  Refrigerator-freezers with partial automatic defrost

Refrigerators with automatic defrost

Type 3  Refrigerator-freezers with automatic defrost, with top-mounted freezer and without through-the-door ice service, as well as all refrigerators without freezers but with automatic defrost

Type 4  Refrigerator-freezers with automatic defrost, with side-mounted freezer and without through-the-door ice service

Type 5  Refrigerator-freezers with automatic defrost, with bottom-mounted freezer and without through-the-door ice service

Type 6  Refrigerator-freezers with automatic defrost, with top-mounted freezer and with through-the-door ice service

Type 7  Refrigerator-freezers with automatic defrost, with side-mounted freezer and with through-the-door ice service

Refrigerators – compact

Type 11  Compact refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers with manual defrost

Type 12  Compact refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers with partial automatic defrost

Type 13  Compact refrigerator-freezers with automatic defrost with top-mounted freezer and compact all-refrigerator⁴ models with automatic defrost

Type 14  Compact refrigerator-freezers with automatic defrost with side-mounted freezer

Type 15  Compact refrigerator-freezers with automatic defrost with bottom-mounted freezer

TABLE 1.1
Refrigerator Market, 2003

	Market Share (%)
Type of Refrigerator
1	1.2
2	0.0
3	68.2
4	2.4
5	13.9
6	0.1
7	11.2
11	0.8
12	0.0
13	2.2
14	0.0
15	0.0
	100.0
Through-the-Door Ice Service	11.3
Type of Freezer
Top-mounted	70.5
Side-mounted	13.5
Bottom-mounted	13.9
	100.0

1.1   2003 Market Snapshot

In 2003, as in all previous years since 1990, Type 3 refrigerators were by far the most popular type in Canada, accounting for 68.2 percent of all refrigerators shipped on the Canadian market. The shipment-weighted average annual unit energy consumption of all refrigerators shipped in 2003 was 487 kilowatt hours (kWh). The most popular size category, 16.5–18.4 cubic feet (cu. ft.), accounted for 37 percent of the market.

Figure 1.1 depicts the energy consumption of Type 3 models shipped in 2003 and shows where they stood in relation to the minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) implemented in 1995 and amended in 2001. The figure shows that all refrigerators met the MEPS and that many exceeded it. Of the Type 3 models available in 2003, 30 percent were ENERGY STAR® products – that is, they were at least 10 percent more efficient than those meeting the MEPS. This figure is up substantially since 2001, the date of our last report, when only 16 percent of Type 3 refrigerators were ENERGY STAR products. In 2003, the shipment-weighted average annual unit energy consumption of Type 3 refrigerators was 461 kWh.

FIGURE 1.1
Energy Consumption of Type 3 Refrigerator Models Available in 2003

Figures 1.2 and 1.3 depict the energy consumption of Types 5 and 7 models shipped in 2003 and also show where they stood in relation to the MEPS. Both these types of refrigerators have increased steadily in popularity since 1990.

FIGURE 1.2
Energy Consumption of Type 5 Refrigerator Models Available in 2003

FIGURE 1.3
Energy Consumption of Type 7 Refrigerator Models Available in 2003

1.2  Distribution of Shipments

1.2.1  Distribution by Type

TABLE 1.2
Distribution of Refrigerators by Type

Model Year	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Type 4	Type 5	Type 6	Type 7	Type 11	Type 13
	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)
1990	3.5	2.0	84.9	7.6	0.6	0.0	0.0	0.1	1.2
1991	3.1	0.3	84.3	9.0	0.8	0.0	0.3	0.3	2.0
1992	2.1	0.4	85.4	7.5	0.3	0.0	3.5	0.1	0.6
1993	1.1	0.6	85.5	6.8	0.7	0.0	4.2	0.1	0.9
1994	0.6	0.7	85.1	4.9	2.0	0.1	4.3	1.3	1.0
1995	0.2	0.6	84.8	4.6	1.6	0.1	5.2	1.9	1.0
1996	0.2	0.5	84.8	4.4	2.2	0.1	6.6	0.8	0.4
1997	0.4	0.1	83.8	3.8	3.2	0.0	8.3	0.4	0.0
1998	0.4	0.0	76.5	3.3	8.6	0.3	7.3	3.6	0.0
1999	0.1	0.0	76.6	2.4	8.4	0.4	7.5	4.6	0.0
2000	0.0	0.0	72.9	2.2	11.1	0.5	7.9	5.3	0.0
2001	0.0	0.0	71.1	2.1	11.1	0.4	9.1	6.1	0.1
2002	0.0	0.0	70.2	2.2	10.6	0.2	11.0	5.8	0.1
2003	0.0	0.0	68.2	2.4	13.9	0.1	11.2	2.0	2.2
Average Annual Change	-0.3%	-0.2%	-1.3%	-0.4%	+1.0%	0.0%	+0.9%	+0.1%	+0.1%

Although Type 3 refrigerators were consistently the most shipped model between 1990 and 2003, their market share declined from 84.9 to 68.2 percent of all refrigerators shipped. Readers may notice significant differences between the distribution of the refrigerators in Table 1.2 and that shown in previous reports.⁵ Type 11 (compact refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers with manual defrost) was added as a category in 2001 and data originally entered as Type 1 (refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers with manual defrost) were transferred to this new type, as needed.

Shipments of refrigerators with through-the-door ice service (Types 6 and 7) continued to rise in popularity. They did not have a significant market share in 1990; but, with the large increase in popularity for Type 7 refrigerators, they accounted for 11.3 percent of the market by 2003.

The market share of Type 5 refrigerators also increased significantly between 1990 and 2003. It would seem that there is an increasing trend towards refrigerators with bottom-mounted freezers.

We have data on Types 12, 14 and 15, but because the values are so low, we did not include them in our analysis. As the data illustrate, Types 1, 2 and 4 had almost disappeared from the market by 2003.

FIGURE 1.4
Distribution of Refrigerators by Type for 1990

FIGURE 1.4
Distribution of Refrigerators by Type for 2003

1.2.2  Distribution by Volume

TABLE 1.3
Distribution of Refrigerators by Volume

Model Year	Volume (cu. ft.)
	<10.5	10.5-12.4	12.5-14.4	14.5-16.4	16.5-18.4	18.5-20.4	>20.5
	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)
1990	3.8	13.2	17.8	14.1	43.3	2.6	5.1
1991	2.6	14.2	11.0	14.2	47.9	5.4	4.7
1992	1.6	10.9	10.0	19.6	42.0	8.3	7.6
1993	2.2	8.0	7.1	16.6	45.3	12.2	8.7
1994	3.4	9.5	6.9	16.5	45.8	8.7	9.3
1995	3.7	14.1	6.7	15.0	39.5	10.8	10.2
1996	1.9	13.5	6.7	13.4	38.6	12.5	13.4
1997	0.9	11.1	6.9	12.2	39.2	12.7	16.9
1998	4.0	9.3	7.1	10.6	42.7	11.1	15.2
1999	5.3	7.6	6.9	9.9	43.5	10.0	16.8
2000	6.5	6.6	7.7	9.0	41.2	9.3	19.7
2001	8.1	5.6	6.7	8.7	36.4	11.4	23.2
2002	6.3	5.5	7.4	6.8	34.6	15.3	24.2
2003	4.9	3.9	6.1	8.6	37.0	15.7	23.9
Average Annual Change	+0.1%	-0.7%	-0.9%	-0.4%	-0.5%	+1.0%	+1.4%

Refrigerators with a volume between 16.5 and 18.4 cu. ft. remain the most popular, on average accounting for 37 percent of the market from 1990 to 2003. However, a trend toward larger refrigerators has emerged. The market share of refrigerators smaller than 18.5 cu. ft. has decreased, while that of refrigerators larger than 18.4 cu. ft. has increased.

FIGURE 1.5
Distribution of Refrigerators by Volume for 1990

FIGURE 1.5
Distribution of Refrigerators by Volume for 2003

From 1990 to 2003, the largest refrigerators (those with a volume of at least 20.5 cu. ft.) more than quadrupled their market share – rising from 5.1 to 23.9 percent. The market share of refrigerators with volumes ranging from 18.5 to 20.4 cu. ft. also increased significantly – from 2.6 percent in 1990 to 15.7 percent in 2003.

1.2.3  Distribution by Average Annual Unit Energy Consumption per Cubic Foot

TABLE 1.4
Distribution of Refrigerators by Average Annual Unit Energy Consumption per Cubic Foot

Model Year	kWh/cu. ft./yr.
	<30	30-39.9	40-49.9	50-59.9	60-69.9	70-79.9	80-89.9	>90
	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)
1990	0.0	1.5	3.9	15.3	60.2	15.4	3.0	0.7
1991	0.0	2.9	10.7	26.9	41.3	12.2	3.6	2.4
1992	0.0	4.8	26.9	33.2	16.0	10.4	4.0	4.8
1993	0.1	51.0	29.7	9.1	1.4	4.2	1.9	2.6
1994	0.4	70.9	22.4	4.0	0.0	0.0	1.7	0.6
1995	2.8	63.3	29.3	1.6	0.0	0.1	2.5	0.5
1996	6.6	60.0	31.2	0.9	0.1	0.0	0.7	0.4
1997	6.9	60.4	31.4	0.9	0.1	0.0	0.2	0.1
1998	5.9	62.4	27.1	0.8	0.0	0.6	2.9	0.2
1999	8.4	61.2	25.0	0.6	0.2	0.7	3.4	0.6
2000	12.2	57.6	23.5	0.9	0.4	0.7	3.6	1.2
2001	44.5	34.6	12.6	1.3	0.8	4.0	0.7	1.5
2002	64.2	26.7	3.1	0.2	0.0	3.9	0.2	1.7
2003	78.4	15.5	1.6	0.2	0.2	2.8	0.2	1.0
Average Annual Change	+6.0%	+1.1%	-0.2%	-1.2%	-4.6%	-1.0%	-0.2%	0.0%

FIGURE 1.6
Distribution of Refrigerators by Average Annual Unit Energy Consumption per Cubic Foot for 1990

FIGURE 1.6
Distribution of Refrigerators by Average Annual Unit Energy Consumption per Cubic Foot for 2003

Refrigerators are becoming more efficient, thanks largely to the ongoing efforts of manufacturers and the MEPS. From 1990 to 2003, the market share of refrigerators requiring less than 50 kWh/cu. ft. increased from 5.4 to 95.5 percent.

The greatest increase in market share was for refrigerators that used less than 30 kWh/cu. ft. per year. There were very few refrigerators in this range of energy consumption in 1990, but they became the dominant model in 2003, accounting for 78.4 percent of the market (up from 44.5 percent in 2001, the date of our last report).

In 1990, refrigerators requiring at least 50 kWh/cu. ft. per year dominated the market, accounting for 94.6 percent of units available. Since 1993, in a dramatic shift, the majority of the refrigerators have required less than 50 kWh/cu. ft. per year.

1.3  Energy Consumption

1.3.1  Average Annual Unit Energy Consumption by Model Year

As mentioned earlier, even though there is much diversity in types and sizes of refrigerators, we have grouped them all together to calculate the average annual unit energy consumption for all refrigerators by model year (see Figure 1.7). Overall, the average annual unit energy consumption decreased by 50.9 percent, or 469 kWh, during the study period. Because size is so important in such analysis, we advise the reader to also look further at the analysis of distribution of refrigerators by average annual unit energy consumption per cubic foot (Table C.3 in Appendix C).

1.3.2  Average Annual Unit Energy Consumption by Volume

The energy performance of refrigerators improved remarkably between 1990 and 2003. As illustrated in Figure 1.8, the larger the volume, the greater the decrease in average annual unit energy consumption. The average annual unit energy consumption of refrigerators with volumes below 5 cu. ft. remained relatively unchanged during the period.

FIGURE 1.7
Average Annual Unit Energy Consumption of Refrigerators by Model Year*

* For greater detail, see Table C.1.

FIGURE 1.8
Average Annual Unit Energy Consumption of Refrigerators by Volume*

* For greater detail, see Table C.2.

In 1990, refrigerators larger than 16.4 cu. ft. consumed on average more than 1000 kWh of electricity per year. By 2003, refrigerators that size consumed only half as much energy, and the largest units (28.5 to 30.4 cu. ft.) consumed, on average, only 660 kWh of electricity per year.

The gap between the average annual unit energy consumption of the largest and smallest units narrowed between 1990 and 2003. When the period began, the difference between the average annual unit energy consumption of the largest and smallest units was over 1000 kWh. By 2003, with manufacturers improving the energy efficiency of larger models, the difference had shrunk to about 360 kWh.

1.3.3  Average Annual Unit Energy Consumption per Cubic Foot

The trend in the average annual unit energy consumption of refrigerators, on a per-cubic-foot basis, is consistent with the above findings. Figure 1.9 shows that larger models consume less energy per cubic foot than smaller ones.

This was the case in both 1990 and 2003. The most marked difference is that 2003 models, on average, consumed 30 kWh/cu. ft. less than 1990 models of equal volume.

1.4  Energy Savings

It is estimated that annual refrigerator energy consumption was significantly lower during the study period than it would have been in the absence of three factors: manufacturers’ improvement in the general energy efficiency of refrigerators, the MEPS and an amendment to improve the energy efficiency levels of the MEPS in 2001. Figure 1.10 shows how much energy refrigerators might have consumed annually between 1992 and 2003 without the MEPS and improved energy efficiency (top line) and how much energy actually was consumed by refrigerators during those years (bottom line).

The divergence of the two lines in Figure 1.10 represents incremental annual energy savings. Even though the MEPS did not come into effect until 1995, the calculation of energy savings is based on data from 1992 onward. This is because energy efficiency began to improve almost immediately after the Energy Efficiency Act came into force in 1992, thanks to market forces such as the regulations expected from the Act and U.S. regulations.

FIGURE 1.9
Average Annual Unit Energy Consumption per Cubic Foot of Refrigerators by Volume*

* For greater detail, see Table C.3.

FIGURE 1.10
Annual Energy Savings for Refrigerators, 1992–2003*

* For greater detail, see Table C.4.

The average annual energy savings for refrigerators were estimated to be 0.74 petajoules (PJ) between 1993 and 2003. (No savings were expected in 1992.) This indicates that, on average, refrigerators consumed about 0.74 PJ less annually than they would have without the MEPS set out in the Energy Efficiency Regulations, the amendment to the MEPS and technological improvements after 1992.

Cumulative energy savings for refrigerators are shown in Figure 1.11 and in Table C.4. The largest annual savings occurred in 2003, when refrigerators consumed about 1.35 PJ less than they otherwise would have. Since energy savings accrue over time, cumulative energy savings grew steadily between 1992 and 2003. They reached a total savings of 8.09 PJ in 2003.

FIGURE 1.11
Cumulative Energy Savings for Refrigerators, 1992–2003*

* For greater detail, see Table C.4.

To summarize, Type 3 refrigerators (refrigerator-freezers with automatic defrost, with top-mounted freezer and without through-the-door ice service, and all refrigerators without freezers but with automatic defrost) remain the most popular type in Canada (68.2 percent of the market). Of the Type 3 models available in 2003, 30 percent were ENERGY STAR products, up from 16 percent in 2001. Shipments of refrigerators with bottom-mounted freezers (Type 5) and refrigerators with through-the-door ice service (Types 6 and 7) continued to rise in popularity by 2003.

The most popular size category of refrigerators was 16.5–18.4 cu. ft., although there was a growing trend for those over 20.5 cu. ft. (23.9 percent of the market). Refrigerators, however, are becoming more efficient. From 1990 to 2003, the market share of refrigerators requiring less than 50 kWh/cu. ft. increased from 5.4 to 95.5 percent. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, the larger the volume, the greater the decrease in average annual unit energy consumption. The average annual energy savings for refrigerators were estimated to be 0.74 PJ between 1993 and 2003, with total energy savings for that period reaching 8.09 PJ.

⁴ The term "all-refrigerator" refers to models that have no freezer compartment.

⁵ Energy Consumption of Major Household Appliances Shipped in Canada - Trends for 1990-2001 (Ottawa: Natural Resources Canada, 2003), Table 1.2, p. 3.