Trade-in plan helps broader energy goal

Upgraded greener air conditioners among hot-selling home appliances

As heat waves intensify across China, household air conditioner use has continued to grow, and rising residential cooling demand has been placing increasing pressure on the power grid.

China's consumer goods trade-in policy, which is aimed at stimulating household spending, has encouraged consumers to replace their outdated appliances with more efficient models, as consumers receive a subsidy covering 15 percent of the retail price for grade 2 energy efficiency models and 20 percent for top-tier grade 1 models. This has in turn supported the country's broader energy and climate goals.

A new report by United Kingdom-based energy think tank Ember said China's consumer goods trade-in program could accelerate the annual efficiency improvement rate of its room air conditioner stock by up to 70 percent. This could potentially reduce residential cooling power use by up to 4.1 percent this summer, demonstrating tangible energy savings in just one year. This reduction could save consumers up to $943 million on electricity bills this year.