Cash for Coolers: Evaluating a Large-Scale Appliance Replacement Program in Mexico

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Davis, Lucas W.; Fuchs, Alan; Gertler, Paul
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research; The World Bank
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-ECONOMIC POLICY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7731
• DOI: 10.1257/pol.6.4.207
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 207-238
• 关键词: demand-side management; Energy efficiency; electricity demand

摘要

This paper evaluates a large-scale appliance replacement program in Mexico that from 2009 to 2012 helped 1.9 million households replace their old refrigerators and air conditioners with energy-efficient models. Using household-level billing records from the universe of Mexican residential customers, we find that refrigerator replacement reduces electricity consumption by 8 percent, about one-quarter of what was predicted by ex ante analyses. Moreover, we find that air conditioning replacement actually increases electricity consumption. Overall, we find that the program is an expensive way to reduce externalities from energy use, reducing carbon dioxide emissions at a program cost of over $500 per ton.