Glossary

BP (Behavioural potential) - an estimate of how much energy could be saved by changes in the behaviour of a product user relative to projected consumption in the Reference Case. The behavioural changes identified for the BP must meet three criteria: they must be actions which do not result in a loss of service to the user, actions which the consumer can carry out immediately and at actions that have zero cost. The BP does not therefore identify all of the potential energy savings through behaviour. The proviso that there should be no loss of service fits with the philosophy underlying ETP.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) - a major greenhouse gas and the main gas produced when fossil fuels are burnt. One molecule contains one atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen, with the relative weights of 12:16:16. Carbon dioxide can be weighed on the basis of either the carbon content (12) or the whole molecule (44). In this report the weight is based on carbon content and given as MtC (million tonnes of carbon). This is the convention now used in government documents.

CEC (European Commission) - the civil service of the European Community. Directorate General XVII (Energy) is responsible for the SAVE programme, of which the decade project is a part.

CECED - the European-wide association of manufacturers of domestic electrical appliances.

CEN (Committee for European Normalisation) - the committee responsible for harmonising standards and test procedures across Europe.

CENELEC - a subsidiary of CEN dealing with standards and test procedures for electrical goods.

Demand side management (DSM) - policies to reduce the demand for electricity, either in a general sense or, often, as a specific policy of an electricity utility.

EA (Electricity Association) - UK organisation representing the 19 electricity companies involved in generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the UK, and known as the Electricity Council prior to electricity privatisation in 1991.

EACEM (European Association of Consumer Electronics Manufacturers) - the European trade association representing the major manufacturers of brown goods.

Ecolabel - a label assessed on the basis of a complete life cycle analysis. Criteria allow only the best 10 or 20% of products on the market to qualify the manufacturer has to pay a licence fee to use the Ecolabel logo.

EESOP (Energy Efficiency Standards of Performance) - the Public Electricity Supply companies (PESs) are required by the Electricity Regulator (OFFER) to spend the Equivalent of £1 per customer per year, on the more efficient use of electricity. This amounts to a total investment of £100 million, 25% of which was originally targeted at electrical appliances in the domestic sector. However, less has been spent in practice since insufficient schemes were forthcoming. Most of the investment to date has been on lighting. Whether or not EESOP will be extended until March 2000 has yet to be confirmed.

ELDA database - a comprehensive database of domestic electrical appliances containing all relevant product information including energy efficiency and performance. The database was developed in Denmark and is used by Danish utilities such as Copenhagen Energy to advise consumers on the most suitable appliance for their needs. Scottish Hydro Electric is currently involved in a project to adapt the database for use in their shops by entering data on appliances available in the UK. Scottish Hydro hope that by offering their customers a wider choice of appliances and best advice on all product features, the database will help to encourage growth in the market for energy efficient appliances.

Energy efficiency - energy consumed by an operation or series of operations per unit capacity (eg kWh/kg) and per unit of performance (eg at 60°C).

EBP (Earliest Best Practice) - EBP is technically feasible and cost-effective to the consumer. Cost effective means it is the minimum life cycle cost (See Life Cycle Cost). Feasible means it is proven technology. Other assumptions are average usage patterns, current EU prices for electricity, water and equipment, average market mark-ups and an 8% discount rate. If energy or equipment prices change significantly, or if new technologies become available, then the EBP may change. It does not include any reduction in consumption from changes in behaviour and so does not represent the technical limit or the lowest limit on consumption.

EU (European Union) - The EU was established by the Maastricht treaty and comprises the European Community (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria, Finland and Sweden), a Foreign Defence and Security Co-operation Mechanism and a Home Affairs and Justice Co-operation Mechanism.

European Commission - see CEC.

Frost-free - Frost builds up in a freezer or fridge-freezer as the air inside cools and contracts, sucking in warm humid air, which then freezes. If cycling takes place more frequently, for example in a inefficient appliance with poor temperature controls and/or a large heat load through the walls, or a very humid kitchen, there will be more frost. In a 'frost-free' appliance, air is driven by fan through a duct and cooled outside the cabinet insulation, so that between cycles the evaporator plate rises above freezing and any ice melts. Some 'auto-defrost' appliances also have an electrical resistance heater which is triggered after a certain time to melt any ice. Fans, heaters and the loss of efficiency from cooling outside the insulation all result in additional consumption which, for a fridge-freezer in the UK, can be up to around 270 kWh per annum or an extra 50% of the consumption.

GB (Great Britain) - the three mainland countries of England, Wales and Scotland, ie not including Northern Ireland.

GEA (Group for Efficient Appliances) - a consortium of researchers from EU national energy agencies, funded by the SAVE programme and national governments. The ECU represents the UK in this group, which has reported on the cold and wet appliances.

Household - this is the same as the census definition: a group of people (who may or may not be related) living, or staying temporarily, at the same address, who have a regular arrangement to share at least one meal daily or share common housekeeping. This is the definition used in all official UK Government publications.

IEA (International Energy Agency) - independent organisation of 24 Member countries, established within the framework of OECD to carry out a comprehensive and co-operative development programme for sustainable international energy trade.

Infrastructure - the internal physical structural aspects of a household, eg the layout of the kitchen and the plumbing.

kWh (kilowatt-hour) - measure of electrical energy consumed; 1 kWh is equal to 1000 watts used for 1 hour.

Kyoto+ scenario (K+) - estimates the effects of a specific illustrative programme of additional measures including further regulations. This programme is designed to achieve a large carbon emission reduction.

Life cycle cost - The cost of the appliance to the consumer over the lifetime of the appliance (ie running costs as well as purchase price). Design changes in favour of efficiency may increase purchase price yet make such large savings in running costs that, over the life of the appliance, they reduce the total life cycle cost. Other more expensive design options may increase life cycle cost. A case could be made for any combination of options which did not increase the life cycle cost above its current level, but resulted in the minimum level of emissions (Figure A.1). However, ETP in this report is based on minimum life cycle cost, which pays back over 4-5 years.

Figure A. 1 Electricity consumption and life cycle cost for fridge-freezers
Life time (of an appliance) - the time taken for half the number of appliances to leave the stock (also known as life span).

LEEP (Lothian and Edinburgh Environmental Partnership) - LEEP undertook a detailed, two-year survey of 100 low-income households and 100 middle-income households in Edinburgh from 1994-1995 and 1995-1996 respectively. decade have supported these studies and collaborated in analysing the data collected.

Minimum standards - legislation to enforce a minimum level of energy efficiency, a maximum level of energy consumption or the presence or absence of a particular technology.

MtC - million tonnes of carbon. The carbon dioxide molecule contains atoms of both carbon and oxygen, as shown by its chemical formula CO2. The weight of a molecule of carbon dioxide includes both the elements of carbon (atomic weight of 12) and oxygen (each of the two atoms has a weight of 16), to give a total of 44. The present convention is to refer to the carbon content only, so that the weight of a molecule of carbon dioxide is expressed in terms of carbon alone in most Government documents and in the title of this report.

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) - an international
organisation to promote policies designed to "achieve the highest sustainable economic
growth" in Member countries and to contribute to the expansion of world trade "in accordance with international obligations."

Programme Line (Prog1) - estimates the effects of a specific illustrative programme of additional measures including further regulations. This programme is designed to achieve and underpin a provisional energy savings target of 90% of the potential indicated by the ETP line by the year 2010

Reference Case (RC) - a projection of usage and ownership and the underlying rate of technical change determined from historical data where available. The only policy intervention included is that which has been implemented or is close to implementation in the UK or EU, ie Energy Labels and a mandatory efficiency standard for cold appliances to be implemented in September 1999. This was formerly known as the Business as Usual (BAU) scenario in previous decade reports.

Sales-weighted data - most analyses to date have been on a simple average of models offered on the market. A better approach is to weight the analysis according to sales of each model. The difference between sales-weighted analysis and a simple average is assumed to be small where there tends to be a wide range of brands on offer in popular market sectors. Where the number of models is small, sales-weighted data are much more important. Sales-weighted data are essential for analysing the effects of policy instruments such as labels, rebates and technology procurement, which might increase the market share of efficient models.

Specific energy consumption - energy consumed per unit of service, given a minimum standard of performance (eg kWh/litre of cold space at a specified temperature).

Takeback - where improved energy efficiency results in an increased level of service rather than reduced consumption.

Test procedure - energy used according to defined conditions and international standards. A standardised test procedure is essential for comparing models on a similar basis, but difficult to translate into actual consumption. For instance, the test procedure for cold appliances (EN153) assumes a warm ambient temperature (25ºC) to compensate for no door openings.

UK (United Kingdom) - Great Britain plus Northern Ireland.

Usage patterns - the way in which an appliance is actually used in the home. This can include frequency of use (eg, for washing machines, the number of washes per annum) and manner of use (eg the proportion of washes at different temperatures).

VIP (Vacuum insulated panels) - though difficult to manufacture and maintain, a vacuum is a better insulant than conventional foam. Recently several manufacturers have developed VIP prototypes consisting of two plastic sheets, sealed round the edges, filled with gel or glass beads and evacuated.

Watt (W) - SI unit of active electric power; the rate at which electric energy is used.

Units of measurement
1 kWh = 3.6 MJ
1 therm = 105 Btu
1 therm = 105.506 MJ
1 therm = 29.3 kWh
POWERS OF TEN
101 = deca
103 = kilo
106 = mega
109 = giga
1012 = tera