An Evaluation of Consumer Awareness and Use of Energy Labels in the Purchase of Major Appliances: A Longitudinal Analysis

Abstract

The National Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1978 requires the Federal Trade Commission to mandate labels for appliances indicating their energy consumption. The purposes of this study are to measure the level of awareness of appliance energy labels by recent purchasers of refrigerators and washers, and to measure changes in the degree to which energy considerations entered into the purchase decisions of national samples of consumers before and after introduction of the FTC program.