Consumers’ preferences regarding energy efficiency: a qualitative analysis based on the household and services sectors in Spain

• Published in: Energy efficiency 2021-01, Vol.14 (1), Article 3
• Main Authors: de Ayala, Amaia, Foudi, Sébastien, Solà, María del Mar, López-Bernabé, Elena, Galarraga, Ibon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Consumer behavior; Consumers; Cooling systems; Decisions; Economic models; Economics and Management; Energy; Energy conservation; Energy consumption; Energy Efficiency; Energy management; Energy Policy; Environment; Environmental Economics; Environmental labelling; Labels; Original Article; Purchasing; Qualitative analysis; Qualitative research; Renewable and Green Energy; Research methods; Sustainable Development; Topical Collection on Consumer energy efficiency decision making across sectors
• ISSN: 1570-646X; 1570-6478
• DOI: 10.1007/s12053-020-09921-0

Informational failures frequently lead consumers to make non-optimal energy-efficient purchasing decisions. Energy efficiency labels seek to influence consumer behaviour at the point of sale by reducing informational failures regarding energy efficiency. However, several informational and behavioural factors contribute to the energy efficiency gap and could render label-oriented policies useless. The purchasing decision model of Allcott and Greenstone ( The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26 , 3–28, 2012 ) is used here to explore the different factors that influence purchasing decisions and understand (i) the importance of energy consumption compared to other attributes; (ii) how consumers weight energy savings and (iii) what other benefits and costs influence the purchase of energy-efficient goods. The analysis reported here is based on qualitative research methods and is conducted in the household and service sectors (the accommodation sector and private service companies), for appliances, heating and cooling systems and cars in Spain. Results show that (i) there is still an informational gap regarding energy labels and (ii) bounded rationality and end-user behaviour are important limiting factors for the purchase of energy-efficient goods in Spain.