Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/222589 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
Economics Working Paper Series No. 20/334
Publisher: 
ETH Zurich, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research, Zurich
Abstract: 
There is an ongoing debate in the literature about whether consumers are fully informed when investing in energy efficiency. We experimentally evaluate the role of imperfect information or limited attention about energy costs of home appliances and light bulbs on households' choices. Using in-home visits, we collect information on the energy efficiency of home appliances and light bulbs that households own. Exploiting these unique data, the intervention provided treated households with customized information about the potential of monetary savings from the adoption of new comparable efficient durables. We find a substantial impact of our information treatment on both the energy efficiency of the newly purchased durables and the intensity of utilization of existing home appliances. Our findings suggest that individuals are not fully informed about or pay attention to energy costs when purchasing and utilizing home appliances.
Subjects: 
Imperfect information
Limited attention
Consumers durable choices
Energy efficiency
Field experiment
JEL: 
C93
D12
D83
Q40
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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