Incentives for Energy Efficient Products
Incentives can build on the foundations laid by efficiency standards and labels by promoting the purchase of highly efficient products, especially if those products are not yet cost-effective for the average consumer. Well-designed financial incentive programs speed the transformation of the market toward more energy efficient products. As the cost of efficient products decreases over time (through streamlined production and economies of scale), incentives can be phased out. The efficiency gains achieved through the incentive program can then be cemented by more-ambitious standards, in a virtuous cycle of improvement.
NEW: The Incentives Working Group has developed a new tool, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Energy Efficiency Revenue Analysis (LEERA) model, to help policy makers design revenue-neutral appliance efficiency incentive programs. For more information, DOWNLOAD THE LEERA MODEL BROCHURE.
On 26 April 2012, the SEAD Incentives working group launched its first initiative, the Efficient Product Promotion Collaborative. The working group will explore options to provide technical support for program design and foster information exchange between electric utilities, regulators, policy makers, and other parties to further the scope, benefits, and effectiveness of these programs.
Efficient Product Promotion Collaborative
The Efficient Product Promotion Collaborative (the Collaborative) aims to strengthen programs targeting efficient and super-efficient products. The Collaborative will connect international stakeholders throughout the energy efficiency value chain to inform program design and maximize efficiency benefits at least cost. It
will focus on incentive programs, informational campaigns, and award programs—considering their interactions with marketing strategies and existing labeling programs such as ENERGY STAR. The Collaborative will leverage the vast existing program design and evaluation knowledge base of its members and share insights internationally.
The Collaborative will gather and share information regarding the design of effective programs and marketing strategies to promote both efficient and super-efficient products to consumers worldwide. It is not intended to focus on regulatory structures and will not be utilized to endorse any particular product or services, or to provide consensus advice regarding the programs or policies of any participating government agency.
Rather, the Collaborative is intended to involve stakeholders throughout the global energy efficiency value chain who share an interest in effective program design. Although membership will be limited to governments or government agencies, the Collaborative will facilitate communication among a wide range of stakeholders from the private sector and civil society. Individual organizations or companies (such as utilities, retailers, and manufacturers) are invited to express support for the goals of the Collaborative and may engage with and provide in-kind support, as appropriate.
Activities
To aid in the design of effective programs to promote efficient and super-efficient appliances, the Collaborative will pursue the following activities:
- Compile existing analyses to surface and share program design insights internationally
- As useful, encourage new analyses of the factors most critical to the success of programs on an impact-per-dollar basis (for example, through randomized controlled trials to test diff erent program designs and their interaction with marketing practices
- Encourage international technical work that enables more successful programs and private-sector marketing efforts to promote efficient devices
- Share resulting insights from these activities to improve the design of efficient appliance programs on a global basis (for example, by facilitating international, bilateral exchanges between utilities and regulators) and, as appropriate, coordinate promotion efforts to unify messaging and achieve economies of scale
Expressions of Support
The following organizations support the goals of the Collaborative. These organizations may, as appropriate, engage with the Collaborative and provide in-kind support; however, expressing support does not obligate any of these entities to commit resources to or engage directly with the Collaborative.