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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a dramatic impact on energy supply and demand. It is vital to understand households’ behaviour with regard to energy, particularly during the pandemic, to deploy future sustainable energy systems. This study aims to investigate the nexus of Malaysian households’ energy consumption behaviour in relation to various electrical appliances, their energy-saving appliance purchasing behaviour and their current possession of energy-saving appliances during the pandemic, especially during the lockdown period, from the perspective of the energy cultures framework.

The partial least squares structural equation modelling technique was used to test hypothesised relationships based on the 1,485 pieces of household data collected using an online and physical survey during the lockdown period in Malaysia.

The energy-saving behaviour cultivated due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to residential customers’ intentions to purchase energy-saving appliances which subsequently led to their current possession of energy-saving appliances. Indeed, energy-saving behaviours in the kitchen, entertainment, office, home lighting and cooling appliances have more than 77.4% influence on their purchasing behaviour. The consumer’s purchase behaviour for energy-saving appliances has a significant, partially mediating influence on the energy-saving behaviour of various electrical appliances and the consumers’ current possession of energy-saving appliances.

This study could be enhanced by improving the sample using a higher-income group and involving other parts of Malaysia such as the southern region. The findings do extend the energy cultures framework by demonstrating the mediating role of households’ energy-saving appliance purchasing behaviour on the relationship between their energy consumption behaviour in relation to various electrical appliances and their current possession of energy-saving appliances.

The results of this study will help develop future action plans for transitioning to energy-saving appliance practices.

This paper examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on future energy efficiency practices in developing countries from the perspective of the energy cultures framework.

This study aims to determine the antecedents that influence attitudes towards the use of environmentally friendly household appliance products and consumers' green purchase intention among consumers in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Data were collected from 329 consumers in Harare, Zimbabwe's commercial capital who were served from five using a structured questionnaire via an online web-based cross-sectional survey. Hypothesised relationships were tested through structural equation modelling with the aid of Smart PLS software.

Green product awareness, social influence, perceived benefit and attitude towards green appliances were found to have a significant positive effect on green purchase intention.

The study's findings may not be generalised to other contexts as sample data was only collected in Zimbabwe. Complementary cross-sectional research studies can be done in other parts of the world to enable cross-cultural comparisons and methodological validations.

The green appliance and energy saving practices are vastly growing, with many multinational appliance companies introducing green products within their product lines and adopting the concept of sustainability through modifications in production, design and consumption of household appliance products that encompass fewer harmful consequences on the environment in response to their concerns about the scarcity of natural resources, environmental well-being and the potential detriment of future generations.

Notwithstanding the limitations of the current study, the results have the potential to contribute to an improved understanding of influence attitudes towards the use of environmentally friendly household appliance products.

This study examines how consumption values influence consumers' purchase intention of energy-efficient home appliances in South Africa, an emerging market. The study further investigates the mediating role of consumers' attention to energy-efficient labels affixed on home appliances while making a purchase decision and the moderating effect of consumer trust in the environmental claims.

Using a quantitative approach, this study relied on self-administered questionnaires to collect data from 505 household representatives in South Africa's Gauteng Province. The proposed conceptual model was empirically tested using structural equation modelling, moderation and mediation analyses.

The results revealed that economic, emotional and social values can only influence consumers' intention to purchase energy-efficient appliances if consumers pay attention to the energy-efficiency label affixed on the appliance. Functional value, however, has a significant direct impact on purchase intention. Moreover, the results indicate that trust in energy-efficiency labels strengthens the effect of functional and emotional values on consumers' attention to energy-efficiency labels.

Findings of this study highlight the importance of capturing the attention of consumers to energy-efficiency labels during the buying process as well as increasing their trust in those labels. Results indicate that consumers are more attracted to the functional and social values that energy-efficient appliances provide. This study is of particular interest to policymakers, retailers and manufacturers, as it sheds light on key strategies to implement to effectively promote the purchase of energy-efficient household appliances in South Africa.

Energy-efficient retrofitting of existing buildings is an inexpensive way of reducing energy consumption and mitigating climate change impacts. The purpose of this study is to examine electricity savings and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission reduction potentials of energy-efficient retrofit measures for surveyed two large shopping malls in India.

A techno-economic model was developed to estimate the electricity savings achieved due to energy-efficient retrofit measures in shopping malls that were surveyed in 2017. Alternative scenarios were constructed based on capital cost and cost of conserved energy (CCE) value for retrofit measures: cheapest replacement, best available technology and best value for money. The life-cycle electricity and CO₂ emission savings and payback period for end-use retrofit measures were evaluated.

The estimated average electricity savings were around 39–56% for various retrofit measures across all three scenarios while the average CO₂ emission reductions were around 50–125 kt-CO₂. Retrofits to light-emitting diode lights and air conditioners with inverter technology offered more life-cycle electricity savings. Paybacks for most lighting end-use measures were estimated to be within 1.5 years while for most space conditioning end-use measures were between 1 and 4 years.

The primary survey-based comprehensive research makes an exclusive contribution by estimating life-cycle electricity savings and CO₂ emission reductions for energy-efficient retrofit measures of lighting and space cooling end-use appliances for existing shopping malls. The present research methodology can also be deployed in other types of commercial buildings and in residential buildings to estimate electricity savings from energy-efficient retrofit measures.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the barriers to consumers’ intention to purchase energy efficient appliances. It uses multiple regression analysis to predict the factors that deter consumers’ purchase intention.

Five barriers to consumers’ intention to purchase energy efficient appliances were identified through an exhaustive literature survey. Data were gathered from 300 respondents from Pune city from the state of Maharashtra in India through a survey. The items were measured on a five-point Likert scale. Validity and reliability of the scale were established. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to predict consumers’ intention to purchase energy efficient appliances based on factors identified.

Findings revealed that some degree of uncertainty was associated with energy efficient appliance purchase. In addition to possessing lower degrees of awareness on energy efficient appliances, consumers tend to disbelieve claims made on labels of energy efficient appliances. Consumers also feel inconvenience in identifying these appliances, spending time to know about them and paying the price to purchase them. Hence, the factors – scepticism towards label claims and perceived personal inconvenience – were found to have negative impact on consumers’ purchase intention. Societal norm was found to have a positive impact on consumers’ purchase intention. Interestingly, price sensitivity and perceived product risk (which were expected to have a negative relationship with consumers’ purchase intention) displayed a positive relationship.

The model proposed here is based on the researcher’s identification of the barriers. There might have been unidentified barriers that were not considered. The research does not account for manufacturing or policy-based issues that might also pose as barriers. The study encourages marketers to re-examine marketing and communication policies associated with the sale of energy efficient appliances.

The paper provides insights into the external barriers faced by consumers while purchasing an energy efficient appliance. This research enables managers to understand consumer’s preference for conventional products over energy efficient ones. It attempts to check the presence of barriers to energy efficient appliances, identified from literature in a tier 1 city of India. Tier 1 city is the city with population greater than 1,00,000 as per 2001 census of India.

Power management in households has become the periodic issue for electric suppliers and household occupants. The number of electronic appliances is increasing day by day in every home with upcoming technology. So, it is becoming difficult for the energy suppliers to predict the power consumption for households at the appliance level. Power consumption in households depends on various factors such as building types, demographics, weather conditions and behavioral aspect. An uncertainty related to the usage of appliances in homes makes the prediction of power difficult. Hence, there is a need to study the usage patterns of the households appliances for predicting the power effectively.

Principal component analysis was performed for dimensionality reduction and for finding the hidden patterns to provide data in clusters. Then, these clusters were further being integrated with climate variables such as temperature, visibility and humidity. Finally, power has been predicted according to climate using regression-based machine learning models.

Power prediction was done based on different climatic conditions for electronic appliances in the residential sector. Different machine learning algorithms were implemented, and the result was compared with the existing work.

This will benefit the society as a whole as it will help to reduce the power consumption and the electricity bills of the house. It will also be helpful in the reduction of the greenhouse gas emission.

The proposed work has been compared with the existing work to validate the current work. The work will be useful to energy suppliers as it will help them to predict the next day power supply to the households. It will be useful for the occupants of the households to complete their daily activities without any hindrance.

Operational energy use in buildings accounts for 28% of global energy demand. One method to reduce operational energy is upgrading old appliances to more efficient ones. In Australia, the most common residential heating type is reverse-cycle heating, followed by gas heating. This article aims to determine the energy balance resulting from a gas heating upgrade through a life cycle assessment (LCA).

Extensive primary data were collected for operational energy performance of 61 ducted gas heating upgrades. To address the scarcity of data on material composition, one ducted gas heater was deconstructed and assessed in terms of material composition (types and weights). The comparison between embodied energy and operational energy savings allows us to establish whether operational energy savings offset the embodied energy incurred with the upgrade. The end of life stage of the old appliance, as well as the production, construction and use stage of the new appliance were assessed.

The results show that the operational energy savings offset the following impact categories: global warming, ozone layer depletion, aquatic acidification, nonrenewable energy and carcinogens. Only the mineral extraction is not offset by the operational energy savings. The results clearly demonstrate that operational energy savings outweigh the embodied energy and therefore contribute positively to the environment.

This study is the first to focus on the LCA of building services through extensive primary data collection and a focus on a high number of appliances. This supports ongoing energy efficient upgrades in Australia and paves the way for further, similar studies to confirm or disprove these findings in other parts of the world.

Saving energy is an essential issue in the world to attenuate climate change. To achieve the goal, energy-saving appliances such as refrigerators should be promoted. This study aims to analyze the conditions enabling Japanese households to purchase such appliances, focusing on the relation with preferences for renewable energy as one of the non-monetary incentives.

A conjoint analysis is used. A random parameter logit model and nested logit model are used for estimation. Data were collected through an online questionnaire of the Rakuten Insight service.

Households will purchase energy-saving appliances when renewable energy is used for electricity generation. This implies that households will purchase energy-saving appliances with electric power generators by renewable energy such as solar panels and home micro-wind generators.

The response rate and attributes of respondents and non-respondents are not shown to researchers in the web-questionnaire service.

Promoting energy-saving appliances and renewable energy is essential in Japan (as in other countries) to save energy and to attenuate climate change. Based on the results, both energy-saving appliances and renewable energy will be widely used.

Although many studies have analyzed households’ preferences for energy-saving appliances and the effects of non-monetary incentives, studies that mentioned the relation with preferences for renewable energy are few. This study analyzes the relation and proposes policy recommendations to promote both energy-saving appliances and renewable energy.

To determine the probable drainage load for sizing a stack serving a number of domestic washrooms in high‐rise buildings, with various occupant loads served by an appliance and simultaneous use of appliances in a domestic washroom taken into account.

With the reported probable demand patterns of domestic appliances from laboratory testing results, on‐site measurements and survey studies, the probable maximum discharge flow rates from a number of domestic washrooms in a stack are estimated with Monte‐Carlo simulations.

The results demonstrated that the occupant loads and the usage patterns of an appliance had significant effects on the sizing of a drainage stack. It was reported that a reduction of 16 per cent in the design discharge flow rate for a washroom, at an occupant load of 4.2 persons per apartment, could be achieved with no more than one appliance discharging at a time. Influence of the occupant load served by an appliance on the probable maximum drainage demand at the stack was addressed. The results also showed a reduction of the predicted discharge flow rate at the stack serving a number of typical domestic washrooms from −26 to +21 per cent as compared with those predicted by the nominal occupant load in current practice.

The model parameters were determined from surveys for some high‐rise residential buildings in Hong Kong and from some laboratory testing results for typical domestic sanitary appliances. The model therefore may require adaptation for use in other countries.

A useful source of information in determining the stack size serving a number of domestic washrooms for those involved in building design and management related to drainage systems of residential buildings.

This paper proposes mathematical expressions in sizing a drainage stack serving a number of domestic washrooms in high‐rise buildings, where drainage demands are dependent on the building occupant loads at certain discharge patterns of appliances in a domestic washroom.

This paper aims to explore how home economists, employed by the Good Housekeeping Institute, may have influenced the use of principles from the home economics movement in advertising appeals for electric appliances.

A content analysis of more than 400 print advertisements from Good Housekeeping magazine, from 1916 to 1929, was conducted to determine whether manufacturers used appeals derived from the home economics movement in their advertising. Then, the Good Housekeeping Institute’s history is explored to suggest how its relationship with manufacturers may have resulted in the use of the home economics movement’s principles in advertising appeals for electric appliances.

The content analysis shows that principles of the home economics movement appeared in advertising appeals for electric appliances in advertisements placed in Good Housekeeping magazine during the period studied. Through its unique relationships with electric appliance manufacturers, the Good Housekeeping Institute seems to have taught manufacturers how to position electric appliances by incorporating the principles of the home economics movement in their advertising appeals.

This research demonstrates how a commercial organization successfully navigated its relationships with manufacturers and consumers for mutual benefit.

This work is the first to link the Good Housekeeping Institute’s work with manufacturers to its influence on advertising appeals. This work also expands understanding of the influence of women on marketing practice. Existing literature on women’s publications is also broadened by analyzing Good Housekeeping, rather than the more frequently studied Ladies’ Home Journal.