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Energy Consumption of Major Household Appliances Shipped in Canada, Trends for 1990–2008

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Highlights

This report analyzes shipment data for major household appliances (refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, electric ranges, clothes washers and electric clothes dryers) between 1990 and 2008. These data were collected through the co-operation of the Canadian Appliance Manufacturers Association and represent the majority of shipments to Canadian retailers and builders during this period.

Highlights of this report include

  • The reduction in average annual unit energy consumption ranged from 7 percent (electric clothes dryers) to 79 percent (clothes washers) during the study period. These energy efficiency improvements can be attributed to a variety of factors, including

    • the research and development carried out by manufacturers
    • consumer demand for more energy-efficient products
    • standards that limit the amount of energy each appliance may consume (such as the minimum energy performance standards [MEPS])
    • information initiatives such as the EnerGuide for Equipment program and the ENERGY STAR® Initiative in Canada, which help consumers identify the most energy-efficient products on the market
    • the various incentives and rebates offered by the federal, provincial/territorial and municipal governments and utilities

  • A household operating an average set of major household appliances purchased in 2008 might expect them to consume fewer than 2900 kilowatt hours per year (kWh/yr) of electricity – approximately half as much as a set purchased in 1990.

  • To illustrate the significance of energy efficiency improvements on overall energy consumption, this report quantified energy savings from all shipped appliances in Canada between 1992 and 2008.³ In 2008, the estimated energy savings exceeded 47 petajoules (or 13 billion kWh) – the equivalent of one year’s energy for approximately 422 300 households.

  • The share of ENERGY STAR qualified appliance shipments in Canada increased to 89 percent of dishwashers, 64 percent of clothes washers and 53 percent of refrigerators in 2008.

  • The majority of appliances in Canada (between 79 and 94 percent) were shipped to retailers in 2008.

³ Note that even though the MEPS did not come into effect until 1995, the baseline year used for all estimates of energy savings was 1992. This is because energy efficiency began to improve almost immediately after the Energy Efficiency Act came into force in 1992.

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