Efficient fridges the biggest contributor to product energy savings

1 February 2012

Better performing, more efficient fridges and freezers saved New Zealanders $59 million last year, according to the latest sales data compiled by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

Household fridges and freezers made the biggest contribution to the overall savings gained by EECA's products programme, which totalled $195 million for the year.

EECA's Products programme uses labelling to provide consumers with energy efficiency information at the point of sale, and mandatory standards to remove the least energy efficient products from the market.

"Minimum energy performance standards require manufacturers to improve the energy efficiency of certain appliances. By getting products that use less energy to deliver the same performance, consumers save significantly on running costs over the entire life of the products," says EECA Products Programme Manager Terry Collins.

"For fridges and freezers, it's a long life: in New Zealand, we tend to keep the same fridge for around 16 years. The running costs of the average fridge has halved in that time. When it's time to get a new fridge, we urge consumers to buy a really efficient one, so they can lock in the savings."

Highlights of the data:

  • EECA's Products programme saved 854 gigawatt hours (GWh)¹, worth $195 million, for the year ended 31 March 2011.
  • Whiteware improvements saved 413 GWh, worth $105 million over the year 
  • Home fridges and freezers (a subset of whiteware) saved 232 GWh, worth $59 million over the year 
  • Heat pumps (single phase-split) saved 357 GWh, worth $75.6 million over the year 
  • Since EECA's Products programme began in 2002, 3,250 GWh have been saved, worth around $726 million 
  • Costs for the programme to date have been around $11.9 million which gives an estimated $60 of energy savings for every $1 EECA invests.

¹This is approximately the amount of electricity used by Dunedin in a year.

More information

Media enquiries: 

Jane O’Loughlin, EECA senior communications advisor
Ph 04 470 2421 or 027 445 5975