MORE EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICITY-USE - AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Since 1973 the efficiency of most energy uses in homes has improved throughout the OECD. 1 This means that to provide a given amount of energy service (for example, heating, cooling, locomotion or mechanical force), less energy is required today than was needed in the past. These improvements have been gained through the introduction of new appliances and, for space heating and cooling, new homes with more efficient building shells and the retrofitting of the existing building stock. In this report we analyse some of the past changes in the efficiency of household appliance electricity use, and discuss prospects for, and barriers to, further increases in the future.