Investigating how appliance efficiency reduces emissions in a residential setting

Appliance efficiency upgrading is a widely promoted demand side decarbonization strategy, yet the appliance specific benefits remain unquantified at scale. This research evaluates energy bill savings and carbon reductions of upgrading the efficiency of 15 appliances across 20 household archetypes in China and projects them to 2060.

The project finds that air-source heat pumps deliver the largest bill savings among all appliances. In relation to carbon savings, upgrading all appliances to top efficiency models reduces residential carbon emissions by 9.2% overall, with air conditioners accounting for the greatest decrease in hot-summer warm-winter regions, while electric water heaters and refrigerators lead in temperate and cold regions.

Projecting to 2060, efficiency upgrading alone contributes 5–19% of the decline in appliance-use emissions, while the combined effect of upgrading and tightening efficiency standards reaches 22–80%. These findings underscore the need to pursue appliance upgrading alongside strengthening efficiency standards, prioritizing high-impact appliance categories that are differentiated by climate zone.